


My Weakness, My Strength

by magicalartist



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, Slow Build Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Swan-Mills Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-02-23 21:42:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 48,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2556749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicalartist/pseuds/magicalartist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina Mills is torn between wanting to hate Emma Swan for wrecking her happy ending with Robin and the startling realization that she has developed feelings for the savior. Emma Swan wrestles with whether or not she wants Regina to be her friend or something more. can both of these women let down their walls and find their happy ending? This is a slow burn Swan Queen. Rated Teen and up for now, most likely will become mature in the future. this story picks up one week after the events of season four episode 5 and diverges from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alone again

**Author's Note:**

> This Story takes starts one week after Season 4 Episode 5. There are flashbacks covering events in previous seasons and episodes, so beware of spoilers. they were included to help refresh reader's memories and establish the foundation for their relationship. some of the scenes are qouted word for word from the episodes while inserting the characters personal thoughts.
> 
> this story was inspired by Regina's attempts to find the Author. when I watched that episode I had a sudden Idea on why that plan wouldn't work and this was the result. Episode 5 of season 4 just further cemented that idea. let me know what you guys think of my theory about the storybook author :) I am curious to see if anyone else had the same thought. the theory is discussed in detail in chapter three.

Regina sat alone on her office floor, back against the door, knees tucked to her chin, her normally perfect hair falling around her face hiding her tears from the empty room. The overwhelming sense of loneliness mixed with the all to familiar feelings of inadequacy and failure, leaving her shaking with defeat. She had failed to find the author of the cursed book and in the process had revealed her true intentions to her son. Henry had predictably looked at her with confusion and hurt over being lied to and then took off as fast as his growing legs would take him, leaving her alone and full of regret yet again.

Regina angrily wiped away her tears, furious at herself for being weak. _Love is weakness dear._ Regina cringed at Cora’s cruel words, even though she knew her mother was long gone, the voice in her head stubbornly remained. She ignored her mother and resumed feeling sorry for herself for losing control. In her desperation to be loved by Robin Hood, to finally have a happy ending she had finally succeeded in pushing away the only person who’s love she truly needed, Henry’s.

Fresh hot tears spilled down her cheeks and she swiped them away again, further smearing her usually perfect makeup. She didn’t care. She sat on the floor wallowing in her self pity for a long time before realizing that she had run to the exact same place she had when Marian and Robin first found each other in Storybrooke. _Emma’s doing_. She tried to find it in herself to hate Emma but found the effort exhausting and pointless. As hurt as she had been that Emma had stolen Robin away from her, however unintentionally, she could not remain angry at the savior for long. Her anger would flare red hot for a few moments but dissipate quickly when she remembered just how upset Emma had been about the consequences of her actions.

It puzzled her to no end that the unpredictable, hot headed daughter of her mortal enemies, _the Charmings’_ cared so deeply about Regina and her happiness. Emma had always been quick to jump to Regina’s defense, quick to protect her at all costs, even when they had been at each other’s throats maybe seconds before. Emma seemed almost possessive of Regina, guarding her at all costs from perceived threats, trying to shield her from unnecessary pain. At first Regina had thought it was because of their shared love for Henry, but over time, she began to suspect that Emma’s motives ran deeper than that.

Regina couldn’t really pinpoint when she had made the transition from hating Emma to beginning to love her, but it had happened slowly. Emma had crawled under her skin, repeatedly seeing beneath the mask everyone else believed. Everyone else in this town was quick to blame anything and everything on Regina, no matter how preposterous the accusations were. Everyone still believed her to be the Evil Queen. Not Emma. Emma had stepped in time and time again, defending Regina to the town, rescuing Regina.

It started with the fire Regina realized. The fire that had won Emma her post as sheriff. Regina had expected Emma to leave her, to abandon her but she didn’t. She dragged Regina out of the burning building, saving her life. And when she could have taken credit for saving her, she chose to tell the truth instead, risking losing everything. Regina found herself disarmed, unable to hate the woman she thought would take everything from her. A woman who had been sorely tempted to do just that.

Since then, Emma had saved her countless times, from the town that wanted to destroy her after the curse broke, from the wraith gold sent after her, and numerous times after that. She defended her when she was accused of murdering Archie, and sincerely apologized after coming to believe that she had as a result of Cora’s deception. Regina couldn’t even track the number of times Emma had stepped in, telling her to be better, helping her to believe that she actually could be better. Emma saw the best in Regina when all everyone else saw the worst.

Regina recalled the times that Emma lent Regina her magic, four times so far. Each time had been in an effort to save Regina and others. Each time, Regina felt a strong connection forged between them when their magic blended. Emma had used magic once before she even knew she had it. Emma had acted on instinct, placing her hand firmly on Regina’s arm, creating the portal that sucked Emma away along with the wraith after Emma shoved her out of harms way. Regina had managed to repay her kindness during Emma and Mary Margaret’s return trip through the portal but that was only because of Henry. Then they worked together to stop the curse from destroying Storybrooke, Emma choosing to stay and fight with Regina instead of abandoning her. After that, Emma had lent Regina magic again to defeat Pan and rescue their son.

In Neverland, Regina felt her walls come down, the mask gone completely. The wounded woman beneath emerged, desperately clinging to the hope that they would succeed in rescuing Henry, all the while not realizing that Emma was rescuing her, teaching her about how to be a better person, a better mother, to believe in herself again and to trust others with her heart. They succeeded in rescuing Henry and bringing him home, at least so they thought. Pan had switched bodies with Henry, and Regina had been furious with herself for not noticing immediately. Emma had helped her forgive herself.

They managed to get Henry back and Gold gave up his life to stop Pan.

Her walls stayed down up until she lost Henry and Emma to Pan’s curse. She sent Emma and Henry over the town line, with her memories of her early years with Henry. She gave Emma the gift of having never given Henry up and removed herself from their lives to save them. After returning to her land, her walls had begun to climb up again until Robin came along and continued the work Emma had begun.

They wound up back in Storybrooke after the Charming’s created a new curse, knowing that somehow, their daughter would find them and rescue them. And Emma did come back. at that point, Regina didn’t remember her year with Robin and so hope sprung up in her again that maybe, just maybe, things could work out between her and Emma. But Emma grew closer with the one handed pirate instead and so Regina backed off, telling herself that she was content to regulate her relationship with Emma to friendship.

Regina began to fall for Robin again, and once she remembered the lost year with him, it seemed to cement their relationship. Regina had found a happy ending, even though it wasn’t with the savior and mother of her child.

Regina had grown distant with Emma since Neverland and her return to Storybrooke, unable to stomach seeing Emma consorting with the pirate, although she could never bring herself to admit why she was so jealous. She found ways to remain friends with Emma while slowly erecting those walls again, but she couldn’t help how she felt about the savior. She remembered their magic lessons, how quickly and easily Emma responded. She remembered how angry she had become at Emma for wasting her potential. And how furious she had been when she found out that Emma lost her magic kissing the pirate, leaving Regina to deal with her sister alone.

But Regina succeeded, thanks to Emma and Robin’s faith in her. They had won, and she was finally being seen for the changed woman she was. Her fragile friendship with Emma was growing stronger.

After the big fight, Regina had been completely caught up in Robin, she didn’t even notice that Emma had gone missing. She felt horrible when she realized that Emma had been dragged into the portal with the pirate into the past. But Emma had returned safe and sound, and Regina was grateful for that. But it wouldn’t last.

Their fragile friendship was shattered the moment Robin spotted his wife.

_“Marian?! I thought I would never see you again. I thought you were dead!” Robin embraced  his wife as Roland said, “ Mommy?” and grabbed his mother’s leg._

_Regina stood, embarrassed beyond believe, the genuine smile frozen on her lips as she stared stupidly at the scene. She was supposed to say hello to the woman, apologize for hurting her and move on. Emma had told her that Marian still saw her as evil and she had been foolish enough to think she could change that. Now she stared at the scene, not believing that in one single instant, she was that evil queen again, tearing families apart, keeping Robin, a man she had come to love deeply from his wife. There was no chance for redemption here. Emma had robbed her of that. She tore her eyes away and turned to face a stricken Emma who looked at her with eyes begging her to understand that she hadn’t meant it._

_“You did this?” Regina asked, her voice betraying her, giving away just how much Emma had succeeded in hurting her. A wound from Emma stung far more than a wound from anyone else. She expected it from everyone else, but Emma? Emma protected her… until now._

_“ I didn’t know…”_

_Regina let Emma have it before fleeing the diner._

Regina knew Emma well enough to know that the Red leather clad Savior had never intended to hurt her by bringing Marian back, she had no idea who the woman was. Still, she had been rather surprised that Emma had chased her out of the diner that night. Regina had turned and snapped at her about consequences and had been shocked and immediately sorry when she saw that Emma’s emerald eyes mirrored Regina’s pain.

Regina didn’t remember exactly what she had said to the pretty blonde, but remembered well the effect it had on her. Emma had looked like a lost puppy, just shy of groveling at her feet for causing Regina immeasurable hurt. Regina had turned from her and fled to the Mayor’s office, more angry at herself than Emma. This office used to make Regina feel in control, but now, it only made her feel small and vulnerable.

It hadn’t surprised Regina when Emma found her the following day. She had seen the look of determination she could have only inherited from her idiot parents in her gaze before Regina had run. Emma seemed to know and understand Regina almost better than Regina understood herself. Emma didn’t have to wonder where Regina had fled to, she simply knew.

Regina refused to open the door that night, not needing to see Emma to know that her green eyes had flashed with sorrow and determination while she promised to somehow, make this right, and get Regina her happy ending back. Regina had shaken her head at Emma’s naivety, _Villians don’t get happy endings_.

Regina had avoided Emma for weeks, ignoring her calls, turning her back on her after fighting the snow monster and saving Marian and the others. Regina just couldn’t shake her anger at Emma for wounding her so badly. Every time Emma tried to reach out and apologize, it only made Regina more angry, and more desperate to pull away, but she would not admit to herself why.

Until last week, when Emma had arrived at her vault, asking Regina for help. Regina turned her away, making cutting remarks to let Emma know she was far from forgiven. Regina had been unpleasantly surprised to run into Emma again while she was using Sydney in her mirror to find the Snow Queen. Regina made it clear Emma was unwelcome but Emma stayed anyway. Moments later, Regina was secretly grateful to have the savior by her side when they nearly died on Elsa’s Ice bridge. Emma predictably asked if she was okay, causing a little of Regina’s anger to dissipate…

Regina recalled how they fought the Ice Queens snowman, trying to fight separately until Emma suggested that they try together. Regina barely contained her smirk. Emma could not resist the opportunity. To her surprise, their magic made short work of the snowman, Regina melting him, Emma preventing him from regenerating. Regina had been rather impressed with how in control Emma had been over her magic, though she wouldn’t dare say that at that moment. Their victory didn’t last anyway because the snow queen appeared.

After the Snow Queen took Regina’s mirror and Regina had discovered the extent of Sydney’s betrayal, Emma tore into her over refusing to reveal that she had put Sydney back in the mirror.

_“You should have told me…”_

_“Tell you what? That I put Sydney in a mirror to kill Marian but I changed my mind? What’s the point? You never would have believed me. I know you too well Swan. Stop trying to get me to forgive you because it will never happen."_

_Regina had turned away so she wouldn’t see the effect her words had and so that Emma wouldn’t realize that Regina was lying. She wouldn’t just forgive Emma, but she already had. She was simply lashing out at Emma because Emma was the one person she could attack over and over again and yet Emma would always come back. She raised her hands and vanished, reappearing in her vault._

About an hour later, Emma came down the stairs again interrupting Regina’s research for a cure so she could save Marian:

_"What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone Swan? GO AWAY" Regina tried to throw as much venom in her voice as possible but Emma wasn’t impressed, nor did she leave._

_"I'm an idiot" Emma blurted out._

_Regina snorted, "Finally, something we can agree on."_

_Emma shook her head, "I'm an idiot because I have been down this road before."_

_“Irritating me?” Regina tried again, “yes you have." Regina wondered why Emma was still pursuing this, usually after such a show of hostility Emma would back off, but yet she stubbornly remained._

_Emma shook her head again, “no, when I was a kid.” her voice softened, and Regina puzzled over why Emma was confiding in her, “someone came into my life for a while and I thought we were going to be… best friends, but this girl lied to me and I pushed her away because of that lie, and she asked me to forgive her but I never did.” Regina’s anger began to dissipate, this wasn’t about Marian and Robin at all. This was about their argument earlier._

_Emma continued, “ It took some time but I realized that was a mistake and I regretted the decision but by then it was too late. The damage was already done. I don’t want to make the same mistake again Regina.”_

_Emma paused, glancing at Regina for a signal. Receiving none, she stepped forward while her tone softened further, “living in Storybrooke, I've got my son and my parents and I love them but they cant always understand me. they don’t understand what it is like to be rejected and misunderstood, not the way I do, not the way you do and somehow that makes us, I don’t know, unique, or maybe even special. I wasn’t looking for you to assuage my guilt. I was just looking for you to be my friend."_

_Emma’s words hit their mark, and the remainder of Regina’s anger vanished. "You thought we were friends?"_

_Emma misread Regina’s tone, backpedaling, "Crazy right?"_

_Emma glanced at Regina, and then at her own feet before continuing shyly, “but I thought it could be that it was possible._

_Regina sighed. Why was everything so complicated between them? If they were friends, they were two of the strangest friends any realm had ever seen._

_Emma glanced at Regina, determination seeping into her voice, "I am not going to stop trying. Even if you still want to kill me"_

_Regina half rolled her eyes, and half blinked. She turned away from Emma, annoyed that Emma still seemed to think Regina wanted to harm her. While the thought had crossed her mind a few times since they met, they were long past the days of Regina trying to do away with Henry’s other mother. She had come to accept that Emma was a part of her life. She had even come to miss her presence when they were fighting over something foolish. Not that she was willing to admit that yet._

_Nor was she ready to admit how grateful she was that even when they were fighting, even when Regina was lashing out at Emma, Emma never hesitated to come to her rescue, never hesitated to defend her or help her._

_Emma turned away from Regina and started to leave, probably assuming that this was as far as she was going to get today._

_Regina’s head snapped up, calling to Emma’s retreating form, noting the slump in the savior’s shoulders, "Emma, wait." Emma’s name felt foreign on her tongue, she rarely called her by her given name, usually preferring to call her Sheriff Swan, Miss Swan or when she was angry with her simply Swan. It gave her the illusion that she was keeping Emma at bay, but Regina was beginning to realize that pushing Emma away was exhausting, pointless and lonely. She wanted a friend. She needed one, and Emma for whatever crazy reason wanted to be that friend._

_Emma turned around and came back towards Regina, the smallest amount of hope creeping into her eyes._

_Regina rolled her eyes up, and then back to Emma, " I don’t WANT to kill you."_

_Emma nodded and grinned, “See? That’s a start." Regina couldn’t help but notice just how much Emma sounded and looked like her Charming mother in that moment and Regina wanted to laugh. She settled for rolling her eyes again instead._

_“Don’t expect me to have you over for girls night and sleep overs anytime soon Miss Swan. This just means that I don’t hate you.”_

_Emma had simply nodded and left as quietly as she came._

Now, a week later, here she sat yet again, even more alone and even more vulnerable than she had been for the last several weeks. She had Henry before, but now she had managed to muck that up as well. Regina sighed in frustration, she seemed to have developed Emma’s gift for running, a gift that seemed to have been passed to their son as well. Shaking her head, she stood to her feet and brushed herself off, hoping that Henry had run to Emma in his frustration and hurt. Emma seemed to know how to calm Henry down and get Henry to forgive Regina over and over again.

Regina walked by one of the remaining mirrors in her former office and was horrified at her appearance. Without thinking, she waved her hand and watched as purple tendrils made their way to her face restoring her perfect makeup and hair. She noted sadly that the magic had done nothing to conceal the pain in her eyes.

Regina went to the chair behind the massive desk, _Snow’s desk_ she amended.  Somehow, Snow had managed to obtain the title of Mayor and new mom while Regina had been distracted trying to get her true love back. Snow had never come to Regina and asked her for the position, she had simply been happy to take the title when the town thrust it upon her. Regina tried to work up resentment for Snow taking something else from her yet again but failed. She knew first hand how difficult it was to run a town with a baby strapped to her. she knew Snow had to be struggling to balance her new roles and was failing if her absence from this office was any indication. Regina felt slightly vindicated that Snow couldn’t perform the role of mayor as well as Regina had, even with a miniature Henry in tow.

_Henry._ Her heart ached at the thought of her son so grown up this morning, running from her as soon as he realized that she had no intention of asking the author of the damned book to give her a happy ending but that she had intended to take it by force. Not that it mattered anymore because if the results of her spell she had cast that morning with Henry by her side was any indication, there was no author for the book, and obtaining her happy ending was now permanently out of reach. Regina sighed, it hadn’t been worth the cost, her dark magic spell. It had cost her a happy ending with the only person who mattered to her.

Her shoulders shook as tears once again threatened to spill down her cheeks. She felt that familiar self loathing rise in her chest, pure hatred for herself for forcing Henry away. She could never have a happy ending. No one was crazy enough to love her when she repeatedly shoved them away.

A soft knock on the office door startled her out of her downward spiral and she wiped her tears away hastily. “Go away.” She called out, trying to insert anger into her voice but failing.

“Regina, let me in.” Regina shook her head, that voice could only belong to a certain blonde, green eyed and stubborn savior who was bound and determined to be her friend.

 


	2. Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are a few more flashbacks with the purpose of establishing the story, beware of spoilers... this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one

“Ma!” Henry slammed through the doors of the sheriff’s station, startling Emma and David who were still working on a very cold case involving a woman with special freezing abilities and a missing sister who helped her maintain her fragile control.

Emma’s eyes went straight to her son, alarmed at the tone in his voice. Something was wrong. Regina.

What is it Henry? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is your mom okay?” Emma ignored the surprised look from David at the very real concern seeping into her voice for a certain dark haired former mayor and queen.

“We need to talk.” He said. He was still out of breath, his hair disheveled. Something had to be wrong, Regina would never let Henry out of the house looking like the mess he currently was. She could sense lingering magic on him. He had most certainly been with his other mother this morning, and they definitely had been interacting with magic. She could smell the soft apple scent that accompanied Regina’s magic.

“Okay kid, talk.” She said, indicating that he take a seat. He glanced at David, Ruby and Elsa standing off to the side and shook his head, “Not here.”

David glanced between mother and son and nodded to Emma, “go ahead, Ruby and I can cover things here.”

Emma nodded gratefully at David, glad that her father at least was not fond of sticking his nose where it wasn’t wanted. She stood and grabbed her signature jacket and followed Henry as he impatiently tugged her by the hand. They headed to her car in silence, Henry refusing to divulge anything until he was sure they were somewhere where they would not be overheard. He loved Regina, and as hurt as he was, he didn’t want the wrong people finding out about her plan to take her happy ending by force.

Emma sensed Henry’s tension and worry and headed to the town line. No one ever came near the border anymore, not with the massive ice wall surrounding the town. She shook her head at the fear of Storybrooke’s residents. They feared what they didn’t understand and hated those they feared. People with magic. She knew that the towns people didn’t hate her but they certainly harbored distrust towards her with her powerful magic coursing in her own veins. No, no one would be anywhere near this town line, they would stay far away, if only out of fear.

She pulled up parallel to the Storybrooke sign, the bug staring directly at the massive Ice wall. She shut off the car and turned her attention to her son. “Okay Henry, wanna tell me what is going on?”

Henry looked at his hands. He knew his moms would not be pleased to learn that he had been playing double agent with them. He wasn’t just working with Regina on operation Mongoose, but he had the same day gone to Emma and started Operation Happy Ending, wanting to help Emma keep her promise to Regina.

“You know how we have been working on Operation Happy Ending, right? How we have been trying to find the author of the fairy tale book so we can give mom her happy ending?”

Emma nodded. Every spare minute that hadn’t been spent trying to find Anna, Elsa’s sister had been dedicated to trying to find out about the book. Well, if she was being honest, she had wasted two weeks giving Hook a fair shot at a relationship with her before he completely screwed it up by reverting to his former self. After Hook hurt her with his behavior, she ended things with him and fully threw herself into trying to solve the mystery behind the elusive author. Emma told herself that she was trying to keep her word to Regina, and trying to ensure that at least one of Henry’s moms found the happiness they deserved. They hadn’t had any luck finding any answers. Not until last night anyway.

Emma had dropped off Henry with Regina, well, on her porch anyway, Regina was back to refusing to open the door while Emma was still standing there. Emma didn’t understand why Regina rejecting her hurt as much as it did but she had.she had thought they had made some progress after their discussion in Regina’s vault last week but Regina was back to pushing her away. Although now, the pushing away felt different. Regina didn’t hate her anymore, but it was like she was unsure how to be a friend, how to accept that Emma just wanted to help, without wanting anything in return. After she left Henry on Regina’s porch, Emma had found her way to Rumple’s shop, hoping he had some answers, since he had somehow found a happy ending with Belle. Rumple had not been very forthcoming, dodging around his happy ending with Belle and only giving Emma cryptic nonsense about the power of fate and choices. She had initially left frustrated but after thinking that conversation over, Emma thought she may have stumbled onto the answer as to why they could not find the author. She had been waiting for Henry to get back to share her theory with him, but the theory was lost at the moment as she focused on her son who looked nervous and worried.

Henry had not continued to spill the beans about what happened between him and his brunette mother. He sat wringing his hands instead, looking anywhere but at her. Emma sighed, “Henry, I know about Operation Mongoose.” He stared at her shocked, “how…”

“My superpower, remember?” he nodded sheepishly.

Emma couldn’t help but smile at his expression, it reminded her so much of herself. “So, you want to tell me what happened this morning? I am guessing from the way you barged in this morning that Operation Mongoose did not go according to plan.”

Henry shook his head sadly. “No it didn’t. Mom cast a spell to find out who the author is and it failed.”

Emma waited for him to continue, knowing that news alone wasn’t enough to cause his outburst this morning. “She used Dark Magic.” He looked at Emma, waiting for the significance of that statement to sink in. when it didn’t he huffed in impatience, not unlike Regina, Emma mused.

“ I am not following kid. Regina always uses dark magic; it’s kind of all she knows.”

Henry wrinkled his nose at his birth mom, bugged that she was missing the point, “No she doesn’t. not now. She usually uses light magic now, ever since she… since she gave me true loves kiss and fought Zelena.”

Emma thought about the times she had seen Regina use Magic since then and couldn’t argue with Henry’s assessment. Regina’s magic had been different since Emma and Regina had worked together to save the town. Granted, Emma’s magic had change too. _Was that a result of Regina_?

“She hasn’t used dark magic and all of a sudden this morning she did. Why?” Henry nodded, his ma was finally catching on. “She doesn’t want to ask the author for her happy ending at all. She wants to make them give it to her. She accidentally gave that away this morning when I asked her why she was using dark magic.”

Emma’s brow creased, she knew Regina had been lonely and upset, and she had been very concerned that Regina would slip back into her old patterns as a result. And it seemed that she had been sorely tempted to do just that. First trapping Sydney in the mirror, contemplating killing Marian though she decided not to, and now, trying to force someone to give her a happy ending. Regina was definitely resorting to her old methods, though her heart didn’t seem to be in any of it. Regina was trying to avoid dealing with something, trying to avoid feeling the hurt and loss she had suffered. She tamped down the guilt she felt for her role in Regina’s pain. Feeling sorry for herself was not going to help the other woman. She needed to think clearly, to help Regina and Henry.

Emma turned to Henry, “Why did you run? I know you are mad at her, but running away from her may only make her more upset Henry. She wants her happy ending but more than anything, she doesn’t want to lose you. You know that.”

Henry nodded apologetically, “I know. I was mad at first, I couldn’t believe she lied to me, but then I realized that I had been lying to both of you. We all want her to be happy, and you have been really trying to help her. I know she doesn’t act like it right now Ma, but she really needs you. You are her friend, you always look out for her and keep her from going to far. You lo… care about her as much as I do and she trusts you.”

Emma caught Henry’s slip of the tongue but chose to ignore it for now. The kid wasn’t wrong. She did care for… _about Regina_ she corrected herself. She needed Regina at her best for their son, for Henry. She shook her head, confused as to when she has stopped thinking of Henry as hers and had begun to think of him as theirs. _Neverland_ , she thought, remembering the conversation she had over Henry’s limp body.

_“Don’t tell me what is enough! My son is dying!” Regina’s eyes flashed in anger._

_“ Our son.” Emma stated in a surprisingly even yet compassionate voice, “ So yes, I know how you feel.”_

_“You have no idea what I feel! You have your parents, you have this…” Regina gestured at Neal, suddenly unsure of what exactly he was to Emma, “ … Person, a pirate who pines for you. You have Everything and yet you claim to know how I feel?!” Emma puzzled over the hint of jealousy and distaste Regina had inserted into her assessment of Neal and hook. Why would Regina be jealous of them? Or was she just jealous of Emma?_

_Regina pointed at her son, tears forming in her eyes, “all I have is henry and I am not about to lose him because he is everything!”_

_Emma dropped to Regina’s level, her tone growing soft, never losing it’s confidence or calm, “your right. I don’t know how you feel. So what do you want to do? You wanna run the show? Run it. How do we save Henry?”_

_Regina shook her head sadly, unnerved by Emma’s apparent faith in Regina, “ I don’t know.” she whispered._

Emma shook off the memory and the confusion it brought up in her over Regina.

“So what do we do kid?” Emma turned to her son and waited for him to come up with a solution.

“Maybe we could go talk to her? Tell her that we are working on Operation Happy Ending?”

Emma shook her head, “ I think it might actually be a good idea for me to go talk to her alone kid, see if I can help her remember the happy ending she needs to be fighting for is you.”

Henry started to protest, but Emma ruffled his hair, “Trust me kid, this is something your mom and I need to talk about alone.” Henry eyed her carefully, “Just don’t end up fighting with her ma. K?”

She sighed, “ I will do my best.”


	3. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma discuss True Love, Fate and Choices

“What part of go away do you not understand?” Regina retorted.

Emma’s voice came through the door sounding determined, “ I just want to talk Regina, Henry is worried about you, I am worried about you.” Emma’s tone shifted with that admission. She sounded, surprised?

Regina shook it off and walked to the door, unable to resist Emma’s request knowing it was Henry who had sent her.

She opened the door part way, blocking entrance with her body. Emma stared at her and she remembered that just a few moments ago she had been crying. She squared her shoulders and gave Emma her best dismissive gaze, “There is nothing to discuss.”

Emma sighed, “Actually there is. Operation Mongoose? Yeah, I knew about that. But did you know that

Henry was also working with me on Operation Happy Ending?”

Regina tried to disguise her shock, but failed. Emma chuckled darkly, “ I will take that as a no. Henry and I have been trying to find the author of that book as well, to no avail, and last night, I think I may have figured out why. I was going to share it with Henry when he got back today but he came barging into the station completely disheveled. I knew that something was wrong because there is no way in the world you would ever let him out of the house looking like he had lost a wrestling match with a bear.”

Regina started to get defensive but Emma raised her hand, “I am hardly criticizing your parenting Regina, lord knows you are far better at getting our son to tow the line than I am. I have zero organization skills, so I am grateful that Henry takes after you in that regard.”

Regina heard the compliment but locked on to the two words that fell out of Emma’s mouth with casual ease, _our son._ Somehow she doubted that Emma had meant to say that out loud. Still, it had completely disarmed her just as it did every time Emma referred to Henry as both of their son . Emma was not here for a fight, she wanted to help.

Emma shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable under Regina’s steady gaze. “So can I come in? Can we talk? I have a theory about why we can’t find that author. I haven’t shared it with Henry yet because based on what he told me, I think you are going to be the one who can confirm it. I swear I am not here for a fight.”

Regina sighed just enough to let Emma know that she was doing the blonde a favor, not the other way around. She stepped back and opened the door, allowing her to enter. She stalked back to her chair, _Snow’s chair_ she reminded herself yet again and waited for Emma to speak.

Emma shut the door and stood in front of the desk, noting how right it was to see Regina behind the desk and just how wrong it was for Snow to be taking that from her. Regina always had someone trying to take everything from her. Emma taking her son, Marian taking her love, and now Snow, taking her job. She shook her head frustrated. It just wasn’t fair to Regina.

“Well Miss Swan? I don’t have all day” Regina broke through her thoughts, forcing her attention back to the broken woman in front of her.

“Do you remember when Zelena’s magic activated that time portal and Hook and I got sucked in?” Regina made a face at Emma’s mention of the arrogant pirate. “Yes, though I fail to see what this has to do with the cursed book.”

Emma put up a hand, “Just listen for a minute, I am getting to that, I promise.” Regina shook her head and smirked at the number of promises Emma had made her recently.

“So you remember how Hook and I got sucked back in time, and I accidentally interrupted my parents first meeting, and that erased their entire history from the book?” Regina nodded to let Emma know she was following this at least.

“Hook and I ran all over the place trying to fix that mistake, so that their history would get back on track. I changed the way they met, and I managed to insert myself into the story as well as a princess.” Emma looks at Regina like she should be understanding this but Regina doesn’t.

“What exactly is your point Miss Swan?”

“ Hook and I changed the book. We changed my parents’ story, and added myself as a character. I didn’t consult any author to do that Regina. I did it myself.”

“And this is significant because?” Regina was being surprisingly dense and Emma was beginning to grow frustrated with the brunette.

“ I am saying, what if there is no one author of the book? Is it possible that there is no one out there writing this book, writing our stories, writing your story? Maybe, just maybe, we are writing these stories ourselves with the choices we make.”

“Then why am I only presented as the evil queen Miss Swan?” Regina was defensive and growing angry.

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She needed to tread carefully, if this came out wrong she would only end up pushing Regina further over the edge.

“Think about how you presented yourself Regina. What did the people of your kingdom know about you, what were they allowed to know about you? They saw an angry, evil queen. They were never allowed to know how you became that person. They didn’t know your story, all they knew is what was presented to them. They didn’t know that you lashed out to protect yourself. In fact, very few people do know your story. I know you better than that but how many people know what I know? How many people really know you as Regina instead of simply the Evil Queen. I think the book only allows the world to know what we want it to know.. Look at the Charming’s stories. The Book always presents them as Heroes, as infallible, and incapable of making human mistakes. That is how they present themselves. We both know the Charming’s are anything but perfect like they try to pretend. They may be presented that way in the book but it doesn’t meant that is actually who they are, that is just who they want everyone to _think_ they are.”

It was not lost on Regina that Emma had used her parents as an example of putting up a false image. It almost made her think that Emma was just as frustrated by the Charmings obsession with their image as Regina was.

“So you are saying that we are the authors of our own stories? And that the book portrays us the way we want to be portrayed?” Regina asked, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. This theory was an interesting development, but it was beginning to make sense.

“That is exactly what I am saying.” Emma sighed in relief. Regina didn’t seem as angry or defensive anymore, just curious now.

“How exactly does this help me get my happy ending Miss Swan?”

Emma shrugged, “it means you have the power to decide on your own story Regina. It means that if you want your happy ending, it is up to you to go after it. And it is also up to you on _how_ you go after it.”

“What about true Love Miss Swan? The book talks about True Love and fate, how does that tie in to our own personal choices?”

Emma sighed and shook her head, “how does that work in the real world Regina? I think True Love and Fate certainly play a role in what happens in our lives but ultimately I believe it comes down to the choices we make. And about who we want to be. We are not defined by our choices Regina unless we choose to be defined that way. And I think we both know you don’t want to be seen as the evil Queen anymore because you realize as much as I do, that is not who you are anymore.”

Regina sighed heavily, “I think I need a drink.”

Emma chuckled, “you and me both.”

Regina sat back in the chair for a few minutes in silence and Emma simply stood there waiting. Regina half expected Emma to address the fact that Regina had resorted to Dark Magic to get what she wanted but Emma remained silent, chewing on her lip, looking worried and uncomfortable.

“ I am disappointed Miss Swan, you seem to be losing your edge.” Emma glanced at her surprised. “What do you mean?”

“ I was expecting a lecture about my use of Dark Magic this  morning, the whole reason Henry came barging into your office this morning.”

Emma sighed and shook her head, “ it is hardly my place to lecture you Regina. Contrary to what you might think, I understand the pull dark magic has. I know it can be so easy to give in to it, especially when we feel wounded or betrayed. I know your intent was not to put Henry in danger. I know you would never deliberately do anything to harm him. I trust you, so I hardly think a lecture on magic is necessary. Besides, it would be rather foolish for a novice student to correct her much older and wiser teacher.”

“Miss Swan! Did you just call me old?!” Regina’s tone was dangerously close to anger but her eyes danced with laughter. Emma was not just good at disarming Henry, she had developed quite the gift for disarming Regina as well.

“ My apologies Madame Mayor, it was not my intention to bring up your age. I was simply complimenting you on your ability to teach.” Emma grinned apologetically.

“Then you would do well to remember that calling your Teacher old is hardly the way to impress your instructor, _sheriff_.” Emma laughed and visibly relaxed. Regina was not angry or defensive. She did have quite a bit to think about though.

“ How about I bring Henry over for dinner and leave him with you overnight, since your time together was interrupted this morning? I can bring take out from Grannies or…”

Regina cut her off, “That will hardly be necessary Miss Swan, I am more than capable of cooking dinner for my son and his other mother.”

Emma shrugged, “Okay, if you say so… what time do you want us over?”

“ Seven should do.” Emma nodded and headed for the door.

“Oh and Miss Swan, do try to be on time.” Emma laughed again and sauntered out the door, unaware of the fact that Regina’s eyes followed her appreciating the view of Emma’s rear.


	4. Happy Mongoose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swan-Mills share a family dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are no flashbacks in this chapter, just plot building... yes, I know the chapters are getting a little shorter, but that may change...

Regina sat in her large empty house alone puzzling over what Emma had told her. Emma’s theory had a great deal of merit, given the fact that there was zero indication that there was an author. Regina grimaced when she recalled her use of magic earlier that day. She had once again made the wrong choice and put her life with Henry at risk trying to chase her own pain away by trying to cause another pain.

Emma had assured her that Henry was not angry at her but simply worried and she wanted to believe her. She shook her head wondering at the fact that Emma had elected not to mention her use of dark magic that morning, let alone lecture her on it. She had to admit she was very grateful that Emma had decided to let it be.

Regina puzzled over Emma’s concern for her. Emma was downright protective of her, always going out of her way to help Regina, always seeing and believing the best about her, even when Regina lashed out at her. Emma had assured her that morning that even after witnessing Regina in her role of Evil Queen when she had gone back in time that Emma did not and could not see her as that person. “That’s not who you are Regina. I have never seen you as that person, I and never will. You have always been and will always be just Regina to me.”

Regina was grateful that Emma did not see her mistakes when she looked at her. Emma saw her as human, flawed but still lovable, still deserving of everything everyone else was. more than that, Emma still wanted to be her friend. Emma had made that abundantly clear.

Regina remembered the slight pang she had felt when Emma had insisted that she wanted to be friends. She couldn’t figure out why she was disappointed that Emma didn’t want something… more.

Regina glanced at the clock on her wall and jumped to her feet. Emma would be here with Henry soon for dinner and Regina had not even started to prepare the meal. It wasn’t like her to get lost in thought, but that had been happening more and more lately. More often than not it pertained to a certain blonde sheriff.

Regina headed to her kitchen and started pulling out ingredients for dinner, feeling flustered and rushed. She was running about the kitchen in a flurry of activity when her doorbell rang. She cursed under her breath and headed to the door, not sure how she would explain why dinner had not even been started.

She opened the door and was immediately ambushed by Henry, plowing into her and giving her a bear hug. She knelt to his level and held him close, grateful that this time at least, he was quick to forgive her.

“ I Love you mom, and I am sorry we didn’t find the author… but we can keep trying. We don’t have to give up on your happy ending, you deserve one.” Regina pulled back and gave Henry a wobbly smile, surprised that Emma hadn’t filled him in yet, “ actually Henry, we may have found the author… and I think I know how to get my happy ending, without dark magic.”

He grinned from ear to ear, “really? Who is it, how?”

She started to answer him but became distracted by movement outside. She glanced behind Henry and saw Emma climbing the stairs to her porch. She was holding several bags of food that she could only guess came from Granny’s.

“ I distinctly recall saying I was going to fix dinner Miss Swan.”

Emma grinned sheepishly, “I figured you had a lot on your mind tonight and may not feel up to cooking. If you did cook, we can always save this for later.”

Regina smiled at Emma’s display of thoughtfulness and was again surprised at just how well the blonde knew her. “I didn’t actually get around to cooking yet, so I guess Granny’s cooking will have to do for tonight.” Emma grinned even wider.

“Wipe that Cheshire grin off your face dear, you look like something a cat dragged out of wonderland.” She had meant it as an insult but Emma just threw her head back and laughed.  

Henry glanced between his two moms sensing a change but not being able to pinpoint exactly what had changed. Finally, he shrugged, grateful that they seemed to be getting along for now.

They all headed into the kitchen and watched as Regina grabbed plates from the cabinets. She handed Henry a plate and then another to Emma. Emma opened the bags of food and Regina’s stomach growled in response to the delicious smells making their way through her kitchen. Both Henry and Emma laughed at her body’s response and she shot them both a withering look that only seemed to make them laugh harder. Regina shook her head, not really aggravated with them. She watched her son eat his Hamburger, noticing for the first time just how much he was like his blonde birthmother. He held so many of her mannerisms, especially when they ate. They had the same facial expressions, they both threw their heads back when they laughed, they both wrinkled their noses in disgust the same way.

Henry was definitely Emma’s child, even though she had not been there to raise him for the first ten years of his life. Regina noted that she no longer resented Emma for wanting to be a part of his life now, nor was she jealous of Henry’s relationship with her. Emma and Henry had a fairly easy going relationship, something that had started to spill over into her own relationship with their son.

There it is again she thought, their son. She knew Emma had started thinking that way, but Regina hadn’t realized that the sentiment was mutual until now. Yet as she sat at the table with Henry and Emma, she knew it was true. They were a family, albeit a dysfunctional and strange one, but a family none the less. Emma and Regina hardly argued over Henry anymore, more often than not actually agreeing on how to raise him, both acknowledging that the other had something unique and specific to contribute to Henry’s life.

Emma kept Henry close to Regina, encouraging him to forgive, to trust that her changes were genuine and encouraging him to get closer to her. Regina was the more organized of the two, making sure Henry ate properly, dressed properly, and was physically taken care of. Emma was learning how to take care of him from her while Regina learned how to be more loving and affectionate from Emma. It was odd, but they felt like a team parenting Henry and it had greatly changed the dynamic between Regina and Emma as well. nothing united them more than protecting and raising Henry did.

They still bantered and tossed insults at each other but now it resembled light banter instead of the constant battle for the upper hand. They had begun to care for each other, looking out for the other’s needs, caring about the others feelings.

Regina felt Emma’s eyes on her and glanced up, not realizing that she had been staring at Emma for several moments. Emma mouthed over Henry’s head, “Everything okay?” Regina nodded and blushed crimson, embarrassed at being caught.

“Everything is fine, Sheriff, though I am curious as to why you did not fill in our son on the latest progress of Operation Mongoose and Happy Ending.” Regina nodded at their son who was still very focused on his dinner and didn’t seem to hear them.

Emma smiled at her warmly, causing butterflies in Regina’s stomach, “I thought we could update him together, and come up with a new name for the operation. I was thinking something along the lines of Operation Happy Mongoose?”

Regina laughed, causing Emma to grin and Henry to glance up from his dinner and stare at his two mothers in surprise. They were getting along surprisingly well and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was something remarkably like friendship between them.

Regina and Emma shared a long glance until Henry cleared his throat, causing both mothers to blush  and turn away. _This is getting out of control_ Regina thought, her blood pounding in her ears.

She returned her attention to her food with fervor, eating in relative silence, listening to Emma and Henry discuss homework.

 After dinner Emma rose to help Regina with the dishes but Regina shook her head and smiled, “observe, Miss Swan.” Regina casually turned her wrist, releasing just enough magic to clear the counter and clean the dishes.

Henry stared at his adoptive mom with his mouth open. Regina never used magic to clean her home, she always preferred to do it herself. She said it helped calm her, being able to work around her own home, putting everything in it’s proper place. It almost seemed like Regina was trying to show off and impress his birth mom, and judging from the look on Emma’s face, it had worked like a charm.

“You have _got_ to show me how to do that!” Emma tried imitating Regina’s movement but Regina grabbed her hand before Emma completed the motion. “You need to learn to control your magic first, before we try _anything_ like that.” Emma’s eyes met hers and Regina pulled her hand away, her face flushing at the heat she felt at that simple contact with Emma. From the way Emma’s eyes flashed, Emma had felt it too.

Regina turned to her son and chuckled at his expression, “Henry dear, close your mouth before you catch flies.” Emma slipped one finger under Henry’s chin and tipped his mouth closed before ruffling his hair affectionately.


	5. Coming Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma reflects on the changes in her relationships recently

Emma sat alone in Regina’s living room, waiting for her to return from putting Henry to bed.

They had sat down with him and filled him in on the latest developments. He had grown excited and optimistic about finding Regina’s happy ending. “Mom, basically, you can have your happy ending. You just have to find a way to be with Robin without hurting Marian or anyone else. Without giving up all the progress you have made.” Regina had nodded and smiled, but the smile had hardly reached her eyes Emma had noted. Emma knew that was easier said than done.

Emma shook off her own disappointment that Regina’s happy ending was with Robin. According to the pixie dust, he was the man for her. Emma couldn’t figure out why that made her insanely jealous of Robin, nor could she figure out why she wanted Regina to try and find a happy ending with someone else. She knew she was being selfish, standing in the way of true love, but she couldn’t help it. Regina had grown on Emma a great deal more than she liked to admit.

Emma thought about Regina’s hand on hers, the way Regina’s eyes had darkened slightly at the contact before she had pulled back suddenly. She recalled Regina’s mock horror when Henry had approved of the new name for their operation: Operation Happy Mongoose. Regina had rolled her eyes in annoyance, but her eyes had mirrored the same laughter as when Emma had initially suggested it. Emma loved being able to make Regina smile, almost against her will sometimes. Regina’s smile tugged at Emma’s heart, making her feel things for the brunette she hadn’t thought she was capable of feeling for a woman, and certainly not for the steely, stubborn Mayor.

Emma had never seen Regina as the evil queen, but now more than ever, Regina hardly resembled the hard, broken and bitter woman she had been when they first met. She knew that every bit of that change had been as a result of her love for Henry and Emma was proud of her for her progress. She knew firsthand that it hadn’t come easily. It takes work to become someone better, someone more, even when you have someone to change for.

Emma smiled, thinking of the way Regina had pulled her son into a tight hug and held him close for several moments. Regina had become quite affectionate towards the kid, and Emma couldn’t be prouder. Emma had followed the pair up to Henry’s room and had kissed Henry goodnight. She had sensed that Henry wanted to talk to the brunette alone and had quietly slipped out of the room to leave before Regina’s hand found her arm.

Regina’s eyes had searched hers for a moment before continuing, “ I will be down in a few minutes. Feel free to help yourself to some of my cider.” Emma recognized Regina’s statement as an invitation to stay for a while longer. Emma had nodded and headed down the stairs.

Now she sat here waiting for Regina to join her. She had been waiting for quite a while now. She shook her head and sighed, not sure why she was still here. She had brought Henry over to stay with his mom, she had stayed for dinner and for the talk about their mission. Now she was tired and simply wanted to head home. Thinking about Regina and her happy ending with Robin made Emma feel sad and alone, and made her feel like she didn’t really belong in this house any longer. She had made amends with Regina, and had brought her son back to her. Her job here was done.

Emma sighed and stood to her feet. She grabbed her leather jacket and slipped into it. She found her keys and headed for the door, completely lost in thought. She didn’t hear Regina come down the stairs and didn’t know the woman was behind her until she felt the light touch on her arm again.

“You are leaving?” Emma heard the sadness in Regina’s voice and turned to face her. She was surprised to see that Regina looked wounded and quickly started to apologize, “ sorry, I figured you guys had stuff to talk about, and I figured my job was done here and I didn’t want to be in the way.”

Regina shook her head and sighed, “ Miss Swan, do you really think I would have invited you to stay if I thought you were in the way?”

Emma didn’t answer. Instead, she worried her lip again and stared at her keys clutched in her hands. She couldn’t look Regina in the eyes right now, afraid that if she did, Regina would see that Emma didn’t really want her to have her happy ending with Robin at all.

Regina’s hand slid over hers, holding her there, “please stay Emma.”

Her head snapped up at the sound of her name on Regina’s lips. Regina rarely used her name, always preferring to refer to her as Miss Swan or sheriff. She heard the soft plea in Regina’s voice, saw the request mirrored in her expression. Regina truly did not want her to leave, although Emma could not fathom why Regina wanted her to stay.

Emma couldn’t speak, she was so overwhelmed with emotion, overwhelmed at the sensation of Regina’s hand over hers. She simply nodded and tried to smile.

Regina nodded and pulled her hand away, releasing a shaky breath. She ran her fingers through her hair before tossing it over her shoulder and heading for the den. She called over her shoulder, “would you like some of that cider now Miss Swan?”

Emma followed Regina hesitantly, noting that Regina didn’t really expect an answer, she just poured Emma a glass anyway. Their fingers brushed and Emma shivered at the contact. _What is wrong with you Swan? You don’t respond like this to women._

Regina folded herself onto the couch and Emma sat down on the opposite end, facing her former nemesis, still puzzling over how her body seemed to respond to every move the brunette made. Emma couldn’t pinpoint exactly when this had changed, when Regina started causing butterflies in her stomach, shivers down her spine and a tightening in her chest every time she thought of Regina with anyone but her.

 _Are you in love with her Swan? No, that can’t be the case._ It made sense though. Emma had been far too quick to get over Neal, and then Hook. Granted, she never really cared much for Hook in the first place and now she was beginning to understand why. Hook held no appeal next to the gorgeous brunette Henry called mom. Regina was everything Hook was not. In fact, Regina was everything all of her former loves were not. She was strong, confident, resilient, stubborn and absolutely stunningly beautiful.

Hook on the other hand was an arrogant drunk mess. Emma recalled her last conversation with him after a third failed date and a near car accident.

_“I am sorry luv, I really am. I will do better, I swear.”_

_Emma shook her head, “ Hook, this isn’t going to work. I cant have you around my son, around my family behaving this way. You could have killed us tonight.”_

_“ it wont happen again Swan, please, give me another chance.”_

_“ you know I cant do that Hook. You say you love me, but clearly not enough. I cant be with someone who puts my family at risk.”_

_Emma had turned away from him and walked back to her car. She climbed in and left Killian on the side of the road. She hadn’t seen him since and that was a week ago._

Emma had walked away from Hook knowing she was doing what was best for her and Henry. Now she sat on Regina’s couch, very unsure of herself again. Regina brought Emma’s insecurities to the surface like no one else could. She broke through the walls Emma had carefully erected around her heart. Emma didn’t know how to keep the brunette out when she kept finding herself fighting to get Regina to let her in.

Emma had almost resigned herself to the fact that Regina was back to hating her. She had almost given up on the woman, knowing that after several weeks, she was still receiving the same icy treatment from Henry’s mother. Even after their heart to heart last week they had made little progress.

But she here she was, running to Regina, trying to help, forcing her way through Regina’s walls again, successfully she noted. and now she was sitting here, wondering why she kept putting herself in this position.

                                                                                        

 

 


	6. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma have a big moment... and then Emma happens

Regina sat across the couch from Emma watching her stare at the cider she had just been handed. Regina had seen Emma’s response when Regina had purposefully brushed her fingers with her own. Regina knew in that moment that Emma was wrestling with the same feelings, the same attraction she was. She shook her head in amazement, surprised that she had asked Emma to stay, painfully aware of how pleading she had sounded. Now Emma sat on the other end of the couch, refusing to look at her. Regina wondered if she had made a mistake in asking the savior to stay, but she remembered her conversation with Henry upstairs.

_“Mom?”_

_“Yes Henry?”_

_Henry had taken her hands in his and stared at her intently. “ you know it’s okay if you don’t want a happy ending with Robin anymore right? I mean, if you want to be with Robin, you should, but if there is someone else, you should go for it. I am totally okay with it.”_

_“Who would I be interested in besides Robin Henry?”_

_Henry had blushed and laughed, “ I don’t know, I kinda thought maybe you had a thing for Ma. You guys act kind of strange around each other lately. At first I thought you were mad at her that night because she took Robin away from you, but I don’t think that anymore and I don’t think you do either.”_

_Regina sighed, “Henry, you are too perceptive for your own good sometimes.”_

_“So I am right?” she smiled at the thinly veiled hope and excitement in his voice. He wanted his moms together, he wanted them to be happy. It made her heart swell with pride._

_“ I don’t know Henry. You are right about one thing though, we have been acting weird lately.”_

_Henry nodded seriously, “you know she loves you right? She fights for you, protects you and me. She just wants you to be happy. I don’t think she thinks she is allowed to be happy, so she wants you to be, even if that is with Robin instead of her.”_

_Regina sighed, knowing Henry was probably right about Emma not feeling deserving of love. It was a feeling she understood all too well, not feeling good enough, not feeling worthy enough… “Wait, did you say she loves me?”_

_Henry laughed softly, “Mom, you can be so clueless sometimes. Don’t you see the way she looks at you? Who else does she fight for and defend other than me?” Henry pointed a finger at Regina’s chest. “You, she fights for you. She never hesitates to save you when you need it. Operation Happy ending was her idea. Dinner tonight was her idea. She does it all for you, to make you happy.”_

_“But she was with Hook Henry, she loves him.”_

_Henry shook his head emphatically, “she was with him for the same reason you were with Robin. She didn’t think you would want to be with her so she chose to try with someone else. Emma doesn’t love hook, she doesn’t even trust him. She trusts you, she protects you, she defends you, and she does it all because she loves you.”_

_“did she tell you that?” Regina wondered how Henry knew so much._

_“ no, and she doesn’t have to. It’s obvious that you two are meant to be together, just like David and Snow.” Henry laughed at Regina’s expression at the mention of his grandparents._

_“ okay, how about Rumple and belle?” Regina’s face contorted even more. “ Ariel and her prince?” Regina’s expression softened slightly, recalling Emma’s use of magic to see how those two were doing._

_“ what you and ma have, what you could have, is true love. Its obvious. You guys started as enemies but you haven’t seen her as that in a very long time, and you know it. you love her too, you love her as much as you love me and you know it, even if you cant admit it.”_

_Henry sat back and watched his words sink in. Regina shook her head, “ I don’t know Henry, I don’t know if we should, I don’t want you to get hurt, and I know Emma doesn’t either. She loves you Henry, and we always end up fighting”_

_“And you always end up working it out and getting closer because of it.”_

_Regina laughed, “Usually it is her trying to fix it.” Henry gave her a pointed look as if to say duh!_

_Regina’s words sank in and she knew Henry was right. Emma cared for her deeply, enough to always come back and try to make things right, even when it wasn’t her fault. Regina sighed, “You have given me a lot to think about my little prince, and I will, but you need to go to sleep now.”_

_Henry nodded, satisfied that he had his mother’s attention. He hoped she would be smart enough to act on what he had told her. She leaned over him and kissed him goodnight before heading down the stairs._

_She had come down the flight just in time to see Emma trying to slip out the door. Her throat constricted at the thought of Emma leaving and found herself asking Emma to stay, her tone not far from begging. Regina never begged, it wasn’t something she was overly fond of, nor was it anything she was accustomed to. Luckily for her, Emma had not made her ask twice. Emma had simply looked at her dejected expression and decided to stay, silently following her to the den._

Now she sat across from Emma in complete silence, watching Emma wrestle with her feelings. She knew Emma wanted to run, back to the safety of her apartment, away from Regina, away from all the complicated emotions Regina brought to the surface. Part of her wanted to let Emma go. It would be easier than trying to find a way to admit that she felt the same way about Emma as Emma did for her.

Regina glanced over at the savior on the other end of the couch. Regina had replaced Emma and Henry with Robin and Roland, believing her family to be lost to her forever. The guilt washed over Regina in a tidal wave. She hadn’t realized at the time that she was replacing them but now it was clear. She had been in love with Emma long before she had even met Robin. The only reason she even gave him a chance was because he reminded her so much of the blonde savior who somehow, always managed to see the best in her.

Now she had a choice to make. She could have a happy ending with either of them if she so chose. Both came with unique circumstances and challenges. _Marian is not a challenge_. She reminded herself, she is a human being who was wounded by the Evil Queen, a victim of Regina’s careless hatred for anyone who defied her. Now she was reunited with the husband who believed her to be dead. Robin was a kindhearted, gentle man. He loved Regina, that much he had made clear after failing to wake Marian with True Loves kiss. Regina had taken Marian’s heart, to keep her alive until she could find a way to save the woman.

The Irony was not lost on Regina. She was trying to save the life of a woman she had sentenced to death. She was trying to reunite the man she loved with the woman Regina had stolen from him so long ago. Pursuing a happy ending with Robin would be a long, difficult road, but she was confident she could do it, since she had found a way to make peace with and even befriend the two idiots Emma called parents.

 _Emma_. Her other potential happy ending. As hard as the road to a happy ending with Robin would be, it would still be easier than pursuing the blonde savior. Emma’s walls did not fall easily. She was prone to running. She inherited several obnoxious traits from her parents. The thought of having the Charming’s as in laws was almost too much to bear. But for Emma, Regina would find a way. She already had in so many ways. She had guarded Snow carefully during her pregnancy, erecting spells and enchantments to protect the unborn child. She had told herself she was trying to make things right, but in reality, she had enjoyed Emma’s watchful gaze as she had performed those tasks, and had enjoyed even more the practice magic sessions that came about as a result.  

The Charming’s would certainly be a problem, but Regina was more concerned about the attention that both she and Emma attracted in the town. She was the scape goat, and Emma the hero. The town would not take kindly to a relationship between them. They already distrusted Emma because of her determination to befriend and defend Regina. Regina knew it would bring trouble, and perhaps danger.

Regina certainly knew that any relationship with Emma would be difficult and challenging. Emma was not an easy person to love. It would be even harder to swallow her pride and make the first move since clearly Emma was not confident enough about Regina’s feelings to act on them.

Regina knew in that moment that her mind was made up. She wanted Emma, regardless of how wrong, how impossibly difficult or absurd loving her seemed.

Regina set her glass on the coaster nearest to her before sliding closer to Emma on the couch. Emma tensed as Regina drew nearer, causing Regina to pause. What if she was wrong, if Henry was wrong and Emma didn’t really feel anything for her? This could be the single most embarrassing and painful moment for her since losing Daniel if that was the case.

Emma glanced up at Regina and her breath caught in her throat. The savior’s emerald eyes were swimming with emotion, barely contained under the surface. Regina responded without thinking, taking the glass out of Emma’s hands and setting it on the table. She scooted over even closer and lifted her hand to brush a strand of Emma’s hair from her face. Her palm rested against Emma’s check, her thumb lightly brushing across Emma’s soft lips. Emma’s breath caught in her throat.

Emma’s eyes were locked on hers, confusion and the tiniest seed of hope visible in her expression. Emma’s breathing had changed the second Regina had touched her and it remained erratic. Regina’s pulse quickened as she lifted her other hand, cupping Emma’s face in her palms. Regina leaned in and brushed her lips across Emma’s, her heart rate doubling. Emma’s hands found her wrists and tugged her hands from Emma’s face gently.

“Regina, what are you doing?” Emma’s voice was low, husky and raw with emotion.

Regina shook her head, trying to read Emma’s expression, “ I honestly don’t know Miss Swan…” Emma stared at her for a moment, still holding her wrists lightly. Regina felt incredibly self conscious under Emma’s piercing gaze. She shifted uncomfortably and Emma released her wrists, holding her hands instead. Regina started to apologize but Emma cut her off.

“ I didn’t think you wanted this, not with me.”

 Regina shook her head, “neither did I, but I do.”

“Why?”

 Regina shook her head, “do I have to have a reason to be in love with you Miss Swan?” Emma’s eyes widened and she let go of Regina’s hands. Regina immediately missed the grounding the contact had provided her with. Touching Emma made her feel braver, stronger, more willing to be honest. Now she felt vulnerable, and afraid that she was alone in her feelings.

“You are in love with me?” Emma’s tone wasn’t harsh, it was broken, as if she couldn’t believe that anyone would love her, let alone Regina.

Regina nodded, not able to get the words past her throat a second time. Instead she leaned in and brushed Emma’s lips with her own again, hoping that Emma would feel what she couldn’t bring herself to say. This time Emma responded in kind, pressing her lips ever so gently against Regina’s, her hands sliding around Regina’s waist, tugging her closer.

Regina went into Emma’s arms willingly, letting a soft moan escape her lips as Emma’s fingers pressed into her lower back. _Emma wants this_ , she thought, feeling victorious. Regina’s hands slid into Emma’s hair, tugging gently.

Emma groaned against her, flicking her tongue across Regina’s lips before pulling away suddenly as if it had just occurred to her who she was kissing. Emma’s eyes searched Regina’s, and after a moment she whispered, “You can’t love me Regina.”

Her words cut through Regina like a red hot blade.


	7. Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma deal with consequences of their actions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is a bit shorter and switches between two perspectives.

Emma had been shocked when Regina had kissed her. It wasn’t at all like the brunette to simply give in to her feelings and passions. They now sat together on the couch, facing each other, at a complete loss for words. Regina had told her she was in love with her. Emma knew Regina felt something for her, but love? How was that possible? How had they gone from being at each other’s throats to being in love?

“What about Robin Regina? You loved him. I saw how you looked at him, how he looked at you. He is your True Love. How can you possibly love me?” Emma winced at her tone, realizing that she was defensive. She had leaned away from Regina, avoiding her gaze. Regina reached for Emma’s hands, but Emma turned away from her, wrestling to regain her fragile control. Emma loved Regina, there was no denying that anymore, the kiss they had just shared sealed that fact. But she couldn’t come between Regina and her happy ending. She was meant to be with Robin, not Emma.

“Emma, look at me… please.” Regina’s tone cut through her like a knife. She looked up and saw tears swimming in the brunette’s gaze, leaving Emma feeling like someone had punched her in the stomach. She had caused Regina pain and it made her disgusted with herself.

“I am so sorry Regina…”

“Would you stop apologizing for two seconds and listen to me?” Regina was so close to falling apart. Emma nodded hesitantly and allowed Regina to reclaim her hands.

“I don’t know how I managed to fall in love with you. I don’t know how I can love Robin and love you. but I do. Pixie dust told me that he was my true love, but how do we truly know that is true? You said so yourself, ultimately we have a choice. Who says that we can’t have true love Emma? Who says I can’t love you the way your parents love each other?”

Emma shook her head, “he is so much better for you Regina. He never says the wrong thing. He protects you, he can give you a family. I cant… I just destroy everything I touch…”

Regina cupped her face in her hands forcing Emma to meet her gaze, “ I know what it is like to feel unworthy of love Miss Swan. I know what it is like to feel like I destroy everything remotely good in my life, and until Henry, until you, that was true.”

Emma’s heart broke for the brunette, she had lost so much. So many people had wrecked Regina’s trust, broke her heart, stole everything that ever mattered from her. Emma couldn’t bring herself to do the same to Regina. Regina may believe she loves Emma but she knew Robin was the only person who could heal Regina’s hurt and give her a real chance at a family. Emma had never had a family, didn’t know how to be a part of one. She couldn’t stand living in the small apartment with her parents, watching them replace her with their newest child. Emma was out of place, she didn’t belong. She never did. She was just the savior. Maybe that was her burden to bear, to save families, but never be able to have one herself.

She had no idea how to raise Henry, she mostly guessed based off of what she learned from Regina. Regina was so much stronger than her, standing and fighting instead of tucking tail and running. They had been through the same things but Regina was so much stronger than her. Emma couldn’t provide Regina with what she needed to be happy, she didn’t know how. Robin had a family once, he knew how to care for those he loved. He wasn’t a runner, he kept his commitments, honored his word.

Emma pulled out of Regina’s grasp and moved towards the door, suddenly eager to run. She couldn’t stay here anymore, painfully aware of Regina’s presence, aware of her blatant affection for her. She couldn’t understand how Regina could love her when Robin was so clearly the better option.

“ I can’t Regina, I won’t stand between you and your happy ending. We can be friends, but that is it. You are meant to be with Robin.”

She fled out the door ignoring Regina calling after her with a hint of desperation, “ Emma, please!”

Regina couldn’t see the tears streaming down Emma’s cheeks. She ran to her car, slamming the door, Frantically trying to flee. She started the car and pulled away, barely able to see through the tears in her eyes. All she could think about was getting as far as she could from Regina, away from the brunettes soft lips, her desperate pleas, her incredible voice. Emma couldn’t think straight around Regina. She needed to get some distance between them if she was going to be able to get her head back on straight. She had to get far away so she could start to get over Regina. 

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Regina stood on her porch watching Emma scramble into her car and pull away with squealing tires. Regina felt the hot tears slip down her cheeks but ignored them. She wasn’t angry at Emma for running, she actually understood Emma’s reasons however wrong she was.

She knew better than to think that Emma would simply reciprocate her love. She had resisted Neal and Hook when they both made it clear how they felt about her. Emma didn’t accept love easily. She guarded her heart  as fiercely as she guarded those she loved. Emma had been burned time and again by those who claimed they loved her, many of those people meaning well but simply being careless with the blonde’s heart. Her parents had abandoned her in the hopes that Emma would forgive them and save them. August had fled thinking he was a poor influence, Neal had fled, believing his was giving Emma her best chance and Hook simply couldn’t resist his old habits and addictions. She sighed, no wonder Emma couldn’t handle Regina’s confession of love. She couldn’t accept it knowing that Regina had feelings for Robin. In her mind, Emma no doubt believed that Regina would eventually leave Emma behind for the handsome woodsman.

Regina was growing cold on the porch. Her arms wrapped around herself, feeling completely alone.

She returned to her den staring at the glass of cider Emma had left untouched. Regina took it to the sink in her kitchen, intending to pour the drink down the drain and wash the glass, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She simply stood in her kitchen for over an hour, staring at the glass Emma had left behind.

Finally she turned away and sighed, leaving the cider by the sink, her eyes roaming over the kitchen. She stared at the red leather jacket casually resting over the arm of a chair.

Regina crossed the room without thinking, grabbing the jacket and bringing it to her nose breathing in the scent that was distinctly Emma. She could smell Emma’s lotion, and the soft scent of cinnamon. Regina wasn’t aware of the soft smile that crossed her tired features. Emma smelled of cinnamon, just like her magic. She couldn’t help but think about how well cinnamon complimented her own apple scent.

Regina let out a long sigh and leaded up the stairs to her room. she changed into her soft silk pajamas and headed for her bed. Almost as an afterthought, she reached for the red jacket and pulled it under the covers with her, her nose buried in it as she slipped off to a restless sleep, dreaming of Emma fleeing from her.


	8. Too Soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David tries to help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written from David's perspective and then Regina's. I ended up combining them because REgina's snippet is too short for it's own chapter. let me know what you guys think, I may add more chapters like this from other perspectives, mainly David, Snow and maybe Henry

David glanced at Emma sitting in her chair staring off into space, exhausted. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all the night before. Unbeknownst to him, She had tossed and turned all night, Regina’s kiss and her words replaying over and over in her head.

 David had noticed her mood, but decided to leave his daughter be. She seemed in no mood to talk. She had snapped at Snow that morning before fleeing to the sheriff’s office.

David didn’t know how to reach out to his adult daughter. She had been alone for so long, she was so used to taking care of herself, so used to being rejected and abandoned by everyone she loved. His heart broke over his role in that, but he knew better than to push Emma, knowing it would only push her further away. He shook his head and turned his attention to the pages on his desk. They were interview records, showing everyone they had questioned about Ana’s disappearance. None of the interviews had turned anything up. He sighed in frustration.

Emma stood suddenly nodded curtly at her father, “ I am going out on patrol.” David simply nodded and watched her go. Once she was gone, he sat back on his chair, lost in thought. Emma had changed so much recently. Everyone had. Emma was strong and resilient. She had seemed lighter lately though. A few weeks ago, she had been down over Hook returning to his drunk antics, drowning his guilt over helping Gold lie to Belle as he stirred up trouble in the town. Emma had seemed disappointed, but seemed to recover rather quickly. David had been rather relieved that Hook was no longer a part of his daughter’s life. She deserved so much better.

She had seemed to become more focused since then. Throwing every moment of her spare time trying to find Ana, and trying to make things right with Regina. It had frustrated Emma to no end that Regina had cut her off, refusing to speak to her. if he didn’t know better, Emma’s motives for helping Regina ran deeper than just trying to help the adoptive mother of his son find balance and peace. It almost seemed as if… _no, couldn’t be_ he thought. The savior in love with the Evil Queen, now that was a fairytale disaster waiting to happen. Still, he thought, Emma’s interactions with Regina before Marian returned had been quite different.

In Neverland, she had seemed eager to please Regina, seemed to trust her, and had seemed eager to have that trust returned. that was the first time that he saw what was building between them. he had dismissed it as foolish thinking on his part but over time, he had watched in surprise as the two grew closer. He thought about Emma and Regina ending pan’s curse, the way Emma’s magic had complimented and strengthened Regina’s. He remembered the showdown between Regina and Zelena, how Emma’s magic again stepped in, helping Regina do more than she could on her own. Emma’s magic was unpredictable, powerful and strong. Regina tamed it, bringing it under control, while Emma lended her a much needed boost. He remembered the lingering magic after that last showdown, the way the air had smelled of apples and cinnamon.

 _Is it possible? Could Emma really love Regina? And what of the former Evil Queen? How did she feel about Emma?_ He needed to find out what Regina’s intentions were concerning his daughter.

He heard the door open to the sheriffs office and heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the floor. _Speak of the devil_ he thought.

Regina emerged around the corner, her eyes searching the room, her expression full of disappointment and sadness. David’s eyes fell to the red jacket draped over her arm. Regina’s eyes met his and she gave him a curt nod, “ David.”

He stood to his feet approaching Regina carefully, “Hello Regina, how are you today?”

“ I am fine…” she eyed him with suspicion and a hint of distaste. It made him want to laugh. Regina never could hide her disdain for him very well.

“Care to explain why you have Emma’s jacket?”

She handed him the jacket, “will you give this to her for me? She left it at my house last night when she dropped Henry off.” She turned to leave but David stepped in front of her.

“ I know it is none of my business Regina, but are you okay? Did something happen between you and my daughter last night?”

“ you are right C _harming_ , it is none of your business.” She tried to step around him but he stepped in her away again. Her eyes flashed and narrowed dangerously but he could see the pain hidden in her gaze, “ you are right of course, its just that Emma came home rather upset last night, she snapped at Snow this morning and she isn’t acting like herself. And the only time she really acts like that is when you two are on the outs.”

“ I fail to see how your daughters behavior is any of my concern, let alone my responsibility. Now if you will excuse me, I  have more important things to do.” she stepped around him again and headed for the door.

“ I know you love her Regina.” David’s tone was soft, anything but confrontational. Regina froze, her hand resting on the door handle, unsure of whether she should flee or turn around and face her former nemesis.

“How long have you known?” she asked without turning around.

“Neverland.” He said, suddenly realizing it was true. Regina hadn’t even bothered to deny it. he shook his head in wonder.

She turned around slowly, her eyes not quite meeting his, “and what do you intend to do about it Charming?” her voice lacked it’s usual venom, she simply sounded tired and defeated.

“What do I intend to do?” he stepped closer to her, offering peace, “ I have no intention of standing in your way, if that is what you are asking Regina. I know better than to get in the way of true love. I would however be willing to offer any assistance I can in helping her realize that loving you is not bad thing.”

She glanced at him, surprised and he chuckled softly, “ she tends to be a runner Regina, she gets that from her mother.” Regina’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the mention of Snow, making him laugh.

“ Emma is strong and stubborn Regina, it is going to take her some time to be willing to let you in. I am afraid that is my fault as much as anyone else’s. she doesn’t exactly have a reason to believe that they people who love her are willing to stay and fight for her when they tend to run instead. But you have a real chance Regina at being happy, and so does Emma. I want to help anyway I can.”

“ I am afraid Emma has already made it abundantly clear that she wants me to pursue Robin instead of her.”

David nodded thoughtfully, “so you did try to tell her that you love her last night.”

 Regina nodded, emitting a soft sigh of defeat. “ I kissed her, and told her I was falling in love with her. She told me that wasn’t possible, that she wasn’t going to stand in the way of my happy ending with Robin, she didn’t want to ruin our friendship and she ran.”

David could hear the hurt in Regina’s voice. He shook his head, starting to smile, “Regina, you must realize she all but admitted that she feels the same about you. Not wanting to stand between you and Robin? She thinks she is doing what is best for you.”

“Well she couldn’t be more wrong. Losing Robin hurt, but not near as much as Emma leaving did.”

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Regina couldn’t figure out why she was confiding in David about his daughter but he seemed to genuinely want to help. David was surprisingly observant, if he had known Regina loved his daughter back in Neverland. Regina hadn’t even known the depth of her feelings for the savior then. Sure, she had been drawn to Emma, she had found her presence comforting, and their joint use of magic intoxicating if not downright addicting but it wasn’t until recently that Regina had realized just how strong her feelings were for the blonde.

 It wasn’t until Emma had betrayed her, however accidentally by bringing Marian back into Robin’s life that Regina realized the real reason she had been so wounded. She had never expected Emma to be capable of bringing her pain, not when Emma went to such great lengths to avoid it. Emma had somehow found a way past Regina’s walls and barriers, slowly working her way into Regina’s thoughts, finding a permanent place in Regina’s heart. Emma was no longer just Henry’s obnoxious birth mother. She hadn’t been that to Regina for a very long time.

Emma had gone from a frenemy, to Regina’s confidant, her closest and most trusted friend. She had become so much more to Regina than she had thought possible and now life without Emma seemed as painful to bear as life without Henry. They were a package deal, and Regina wouldn’t have it any other way. She wondered if Emma would ever feel the same. She certainly didn’t seem to think Regina had any business considering spending her life with anyone but Robin. Rather ironic considering how set Emma was on helping Regina realize that she could shape her own destiny, forge her own path, become a different person. Emma seemed to think that there were multiple paths to choose from in life except where it concerned who Regina could love.

David cleared his throat breaking through Regina’s thoughts, “ unfortunately, my daughter tends to believe that she isn’t lovable. Something I know you understand Regina. She doesn’t feel worthy. She is used to rescuing people, but doesn’t know what to do when people want to rescue her. she doesn’t believe she is deserving of love, she believes that eventually people will run, something she learned from being abandoned by so many, myself and snow included.”

Regina nodded, “that’s the thing, I do understand. As much as it hurts to be rejected and pushed aside after playing hero, I know that I don’t deserve trust, and that is why I don’t get it. Except from Emma. She seems to see things in me that aren’t there, or things I didn’t think were there. She makes me a better person. Henry is so much like her, always reminding me that I can be better, though when I mess up, Emma is the only one who still seems to see the good in me. Henry only sees my actions, but Emma seems like she actually understands what is going on in my head.  She knows how torn I am all the time, how I always feel like I am split in two, torn between good and bad. She ties me together, keeps me whole, always reminding me that none of us is all good or all bad.”

David smiled, “she is something isn’t she, in spite of everything she has been through, she hasn’t lost herself.”

“Well look who she has for parents. Unbelievably foolish hope runs in the Charming bloodline. Henry certainly inherited it.”

“Well, they didn’t inherit all of our traits, and I for one am glad of that, as I am sure you are as well. can you imagine?”

Regina snorted, “ I’d rather not. You and Snow are insufferable idiots at the best of times, I really could not tolerate two more exactly like you.”

David laughed, “ Yes, but you seem to be enjoying hanging out with us a lot lately, and you came to the Idiot for help  with my daughter.”

Regina sniffed, amusement dancing in her eyes, “ I did not come to you, you stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong, in your typical charming style.”

David grinned, “ I will take that as a compliment.”

“ you would.”

Regina turned to leave but stopped once again at David’s heartfelt words, “ I am glad that Emma has someone like you Regina to love her.”

She turned and faced him, the sadness creeping into her gaze, “ I don’t think Emma feels that way.”

He nodded, “she will, give it time. She loves you, even if she isn’t ready to admit it. We both have seen it.  Snow has seen it. We just need to help Emma see it.”

David stepped forward, eyes asking for permission, arms open.

Regina laughed, her eyes filled with mirth, “ _Charming_? Are you seriously trying to give me one of your motivational family hugs?”

He dropped his arms and grinned, “Too soon?”

Regina snorted and backed away to the door, “it will never not be too soon.”


	9. Making Deals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has another run in with the Ice Queen. Someone comes to her aid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long, a lot happens here. several plot points, and a bit more Swan Queen progress. there is a flashback to previous episodes, with my own spin of course ;) the whole chapter is in Emma's perspective. oh, and there is a surprising development in Emma's abilities as well as Regina's... Enjoy!

Emma drove around in her bug trying to shake the thoughts of Regina from her mind. Soft brown eyes filled with sorrow when Emma told her that Robin was the one for her. all hints of anger and distrust were gone. Regina had opened her heart to Emma, and Emma had backed away and slammed the door.

She wondered if maybe she was wrong, if maybe Regina did love her, did really want a relationship with her. Emma loved Regina. She loved everything about the woman. She had fallen in love with her shortly before Neverland. It had become crystal clear to Emma when she saw Regina try to stop the trigger built into the curse. Regina had chosen to stay behind and sacrifice herself so that everyone, not just Henry could live. Regina’s words had cut through her:

_“Everyone sees me as the evil queen, including my son.” Regina’s eyes were full of unshed tears. Emma saw a brokenness and loneliness in Regina she had only caught glimpses of before. There in that moment, Emma realized that she was in love with Regina._

_Regina looked at Emma with a honest desperation Emma had never seen before, “ Please, let me die as Regina.”_

_Emma’s breath caught. She couldn’t find words so she simply nodded and had turned away. Seconds she found her courage and turned around to convince Regina that maybe there was another way, “Regina…”_

_But Regina had begun her fight with the trigger. Emma stood there unsure of whether to stay with the woman she was beginning to love or honor her request and save their son and the town as Regina had requested. She chose to try and save her son._

_It didn’t take much for Henry to change her mind. She had wanted to save Regina to begin with but didn’t know how. In the end, she had joined Regina, adding her own magic to help contain the trigger, their magic overpowering it, throwing them both back, across the mine, away from each other._

Since then, Emma had tried to forget that she loved Regina. She hid her feelings, knowing it was impossibly foolish to think that Regina would return her feelings. Emma had convinced herself that she didn’t love Regina, she simply wanted to be friends with her son’s adoptive mother. That lie had been working until last night.

Last night Regina once again broke through Emma’s walls, forcing her to face the feelings that had been buried under the surface all along. Regina had flirted with her throughout dinner, showing off her magic, asking her to stay, and then finally kissing her. Twice. Emma remembered Regina’s soft touch, her hot breath tickling Emma’s face when she hesitated before the first kiss. Emma had been incredibly surprised. She had always been afraid that she would be the one to make a move on the mayor and be rejected, but Regina had done it instead.

It had felt so right when Regina leaned in and kissed her again. Emma had lost herself in the feel of Regina’s mouth over hers. Emma had tugged her closer, reveling in how gentle Regina was being with her. The woman was strong, yet so soft. It hardly seemed possible for someone to love her the way Regina professed to, and that thought had caused her to pull away, severing the contact she had craved for so long. She had fled from the woman she wanted to hold. Had told her that the love she felt for her was impossible, a farce.

Emma felt guilty, but was unsure what to do about it. How could she go back to Regina now? What could she possibly say after she had fled last night?

Emma wasn’t paying attention to the road in front of her. She was completely lost in her thoughts about Regina, and didn’t see a woman walk out in front of her in the road. She didn’t see the woman stop and stand directly in the bug’s path, didn’t see the hand raise and send a blast of ice in her direction.

The next thing Emma knew, her car lost control, spinning wildly out of control. Emma snapped back into focus, holding the wheel tight, fighting for control. The bug finally stopped spinning, facing the Ice Queen.

Emma growled. That damn woman had been taunting her for weeks. Showing up, messing with her while she was driving, interrupting investigations. The woman enjoyed tormenting the blonde, feeling confident that Emma didn’t remember her, though Emma now knew that they had met before and that  at some point the woman had been her foster mother, and that at some point she had stopped and talked to the woman in her ice cream shop. she just couldn’t remember when or where or why that was important.

Emma jumped out of the bug, feet flying out from under her as her boots slid across the Ice. She accidentally fired a round from her already pulled gun, blowing out the front tire of her only car. She cursed and worked her way to her feet. The Ice Queen stood there, head cocked to the side, waiting for Emma to make the next move. Emma raised her gun and worked her way out of the black ice patch the woman had created around her car, again.  

Emma expected the woman to turn around and leave, as she had before, but the Ice Queen didn’t seem interested in leaving, nor did she seem intimidated by Emma’s gun.

“ what do you want Ice Queen? Here to taunt me some more? Or maybe you want to know if I remember you yet? Or maybe you want to finally give up and just turn yourself in.”

The Ice Queen simply stared at her for a moment before speaking, “I am here to offer you a deal.”

_A deal? That’s more Gold’s style… is he involved in this somehow?_ The man had been acting as if he wanted to change but Emma had been getting the nagging feeling that he was up to no good again. and her gut was usually right…

“What could you possibly offer Emma that would make her forget that you have attempted to kill her 5 times now, and nearly killed her boyfriend.” A familiar voice asked reasonably.

_Regina? Where the hell did she come from?_ Emma turned and watched as the brunette approached, practically gliding across the Ice as if she was skating. she was wearing one of her famous power suits. In fact it was the same one she had worn in Neverland. Emma watched the remainder of Regina’s reddish purple smoke dissipate, smelling apples on the air. Regina had somehow known to appear here at this very moment.  Emma shook her head _, leave it to Regina to make a grand entrance._

The Ice Queen turned and faced Regina with an amused smirk, “the Evil Queen comes to rescue the savior… now why does that not surprise me?”

Regina’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she drew closer, “ what do you want? What is this deal?”

The Ice Queen returned her gaze to Emma, ignoring Regina, “ I believe you are looking for someone, a princess of Arendale, Elsa’s sister if I am not mistaken. I could be persuaded to tell you where she is.”

“ you know where she is, you taunted Elsa with her sister last week. Only makes sense that you would continue to try and play that card.” Emma mused aloud. “ so what do you want in return for your releasing the princess. You are holding her captive I assume.”

The Ice Queen laughed, “You catch on quickly. I am surprised you do not yet remember me Emma, but you will. I …”

“What are your terms?” Regina barked, not liking the direction of the conversation. The other woman clearly made her uneasy. Emma felt like the Ice Queen was toying with them.

“It’s quite simple really, I will give you the princess in exchange for you, Emma.”

Regina stepped in front of Emma, grabbing her arm protectively. “No deal.” She growled, “how about this deal. You hand over the princess and I will try not to kill you for threatening my family.”

The Ice Queen laughed, stepping closer to Regina. “ your family? If I didn’t know better I would think you loved Emma, but I do know better. you are the Evil Queen, and that woman is incapable of love.”

Regina released Emma’s arm and casually stepped forward, twin fireballs in her hands. Emma stepped forward, placing her hand on Regina’s arm, “ Regina, she is baiting you. don’t give in to the anger.”

Regina turned and looked at her. Emma gasped at the fear in her eyes, “ I am not letting you go with that woman, regardless of what you think, I do love you and there is no way I am losing you to her.”

Emma nodded, “ I know Regina, I was wrong. we will talk, but not now. Right now we have more pressing matters at hand. Like dealing with this woman…” Emma dropped her voice to a whipser, “ who may or may not have been my foster mom at some point.” Regina glanced at her surprised.

“ I will explain later.” Emma said softly.

Regina nodded and returned her steely gaze to the Ice Queen. “ we will find Ana without your help, unless you feel like being generous and just releasing her.”

The Queen laughed, “ please… don’t insult my intelligence. Emma has  been trying to find Ana for weeks now. While you have been busy doing what again? oh, that’s right, trying to save your true love’s wife.”

Regina’s eyes narrowed dangerously as the snow queen continued, “ You won’t find her without my help, and the only way I will help is if Emma comes with me.”

Regina stepped forward again but Emma put a hand on her arm and stepped in front of Regina, preventing her from attacking the woman.

“ what do you want with me?”

“ to help you remember me of course.” The Ice Queen stepped closer. “ I imagine you are quite curious about where we have met before. I know all about you Emma, the orphan, the runaway, the foster child, the criminal, the bail bonds hunter. But what do you know about me? you have never even heard of me from any of those silly little fairy tales in that ridiculous book have you? ever wondered why?”

Emma shook her head, processing the Queens words. she wasn’t ready to reveal that she knew exactly where they had met before even though she didn’t actually remember it yet. She could feel Regina itching to fight behind her, and she tried desperately to silently communicate how important it was that they not pick a fight with this woman. They knew next to nothing about her, about her magic. Fighting blindly was too dangerous, there were too many lives in the balance.

_Stand down Regina,  just trust me._

Emma was startled to receive a response.

_I do trust you, its her I don’t trust. I am not losing you._

Emma fought to hide her surprise.

_You heard me?_

She could feel Regina’s smile as she heard Regina respond again.

_Of course I did...Did you not intend to…?_

Emma gave the slightest shake of her head, barely noticeable.

She returned her attention to the Ice Queen in front of her. She had no idea what to do.

The Ice Queen made the decision for her, “ it’s obvious you need some time to think over this deal. So I will give you until tomorrow afternoon to decide. I will return here then with Ana. If you don’t agree to my terms then, I will kill her Emma, and then I will kill your whole family.”

Regina tried to get past Emma but she held her back. “until tomorrow then.”

The Ice Queen lifted her hands before vanishing.

“ there is no way you are giving yourself over to her Emma, I won’t have it, neither will your parents.” Regina sounded, afraid?

“ Regina, she threatened my family, she threatened you. if we cant find Ana and find a way to defeat this woman by tomorrow, I have to go with her. you would do the same thing to protect Henry, to protect me.”

“ I wont allow it.”

“You won’t have a choice. Not unless we find a way to beat her.” Emma took Regina’s hands in hers. She suddenly felt the need to reassure Regina that everything would work out okay.

“We will find a way Regina, we always do.”

Regina stood there quietly for a moment as Emma realized just how much she sounded like her parents.

“Sorry Regina, my Charming genes are showing.”

Regina laughed tersely, “ you know what? Your parents bottomless optimism annoys me to no end, but for some insane reason, I find it almost endearing coming from you. I just hope you are right.”

Emma nodded, trying to seem more confident than she was. _Me too._

_Back to this again dear?_

Emma nearly jumped at Regina’s voice resounding in her mind.

_Sorry, I have no idea how that keeps happening._

Regina glanced at her sideways, amused.

_You never realize what you are capable of, you never really tap into your potential. I have never seen anyone so completely unaware of their power or as clueless as to how to channel it as you are._

_So you have been able to do this all along? you know how to do this or shut it off?_

_No dear, I am not doing any of this._ _this is all you. I have no idea how you managed to get in my head._

Emma pulled out of Regina’s grasp, stepping away from her. she had no idea how she had ended up talking to Regina without actually saying anything. This was completely new.

Emma felt completely overwhelmed at everything that had just transpired. The Ice Queen toying with her, Regina’s sudden appearance, her new ability to silently communicate with Regina.

“Regina, how did you know? you just appeared out of thin air… how did you know I needed help?”

Regina shook her head, “ I am not sure, I just felt this connection to you for a few minutes. Like I could feel what you were feeling. You were confused, a little afraid and vulnerable, and then all of the sudden very angry. I know you well enough to know that you get angry when someone is messing with you or your family. I took a guess and figured you were in danger. I knew I was right when I felt a sudden pain and then more of your anger”

Emma stared at Regina, “ but how did you know how to find me? how did you end up here?”

“ I just thought about you, about helping you and I just… appeared here. I didn’t have a destination in mind. I didn’t even raise my hands.” Regina sounded as confused as Emma did.

“ have you ever been able to do that before?”

“no, I always had to have a destination in mind, a specific spot on a map. It’s too dangerous to try it without knowing where you are going… but somehow I did. All I knew was that you needed me and I needed to get to you quickly.”

Regina cocked her head at Emma, “ Swan, how did you manage to get in my head?”

Now Emma shook her head, “ I didn’t mean to , I just wanted you to trust me, to not rise to her bait. I thought about how I could get the message across without saying it out loud and that is what happened.”

Regina turned away for a moment, processing everything they both had said. Emma stood and stared at Regina’s back, wondering what it all meant.

Regina turned to her a minute later, “you said you met the…”

Emma raised her hands, _not now. Later, and not out loud._

Regina shot her a look, _Really Miss Swan?_

Emma shook her head emphatically, _I don’t want her to know I know anything yet. Not til we know more about her. I don’t want to play our hand to soon._

Regina huffed. _Then can we talk about the other thing? What you said we would talk about?_

Emma nodded, “I am sorry I ran last night. I was scared Regina. I can’t stand the idea of you or Henry getting hurt, especially not by me.”

“You running hurt me” Regina stated, no anger in her tone, just honesty that was mirrored in her gaze, “ I opened up to you and you ran. Like you always do”

“I am not the only one who keeps running Regina”

“Yes, I run, but _you always find me_.” Regina stepped closer to Emma.

Emma laughed, “You sound like Snow.”

Regina glared at her, “you are missing the point.”

Emma sighed,“ you are right, I do run, all the time, every time I get scared, I run. And usually, no one comes after me, until you did today.”

Emma stared at her hands, “I was scared last night, scared that you were saying things you didn’t mean, scared that you did mean it. I don’t know how to trust someone when they tell me they love me, because they always end up abandoning me, leaving me alone. I always end up screwing everything up. I am toxic Regina, and I didn’t want to ruin whatever remained of our friendship”

Regina reached for Emma’s chin, gently forcing her to meet her gaze, “Emma, you couldn’t ruin our friendship. And Emma, you are not toxic, you could never be toxic. You bring so much joy into people’s lives. They would do anything for you, they would die for you” Her tone softened but an edge of steely determination Regina was known for crept into her voice, “I will not abandon you Emma. You and Henry stole what was left of my heart. The two of you brought me back to life, you gave me a reason to change. Everything I am, everything I have become, I owe to the two of you.  We are a family, and I would do _anything_ for both of you.”

Emma gulped, not sure what to say. She knew Regina loved her but until this moment she hadn’t realized how much.

Emma couldn’t get any words past her throat so she simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Regina, pulling her into the hug Emma had been waiting to give her since she met her.

Regina stiffened at first and Emma nearly let go and backed away but Regina’s arms came around her, holding her close. Regina’s head rested against Emma’s shoulder, her face buried in Emma’s neck.

“Don’t let go,” Regina whispered.

Emma choked back tears, this hug was exactly what they had both needed for a very long time. “Never,” she promised softly.

They stood there for a while, just holding each other, ignoring the stares they received from everyone walking by. It must have been quite a sight Emma realized, her car was in the middle of the road, her front tire blown, her door ajar, and her and Regina holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it.

Regina must have thought the same because they slowly disengaged from the hug, avoiding each other’s eyes, knowing full well that both of them were crying.

“We should probably leave now, people are staring” Emma stated softly.

Regina backed away slowly, managing a smile as she spotted Emma’s blown tire for the first time. She shook her head and laughed, wiping away her tears, “ Really Emma, you are as careless with your gun as you are with your magic. You really need to learn to control it.”

Emma smiled ruefully, “yeah, I know. But in my defense, she iced the road, so when I got out of the car, I immediately fell on my ass and my gun fired.”

Regina nodded thoughtfully, “so that was the pain I felt…”

“You felt that?”

Regina nodded, “ it appears that we have some sort of…”

_Connection._ Emma finished for her.

Regina rolled her eyes, _really Miss Swan? Is this going to be a thing?_

_Well, it’s true. You can feel my emotions, I can communicate with you silently, and now you can randomly appear wherever I am if you think about me._ Emma was grinning like a child in a candy store. _When you think about it, it’s pretty damn awesome._

“Language, Miss Swan!”

Emma threw her head back and laughed, “What? Henry isn’t around. And it’s not like anyone else heard that.”

Regina tried to maintain her scolding expression but Emma could see the laughter dancing in her eyes.

Slowly, the laughter disappeared and Regina’s gaze became solemn. Emma stepped forward, taking Regina’s hands into hers.

Regina smiled at their intertwined hands before pulling from Emma’s grasp.

“not now Swan, not here. We need to talk about what to do about the Snow Queen. And we need to talk about us.”

“Isn’t that what we just did Regina?”

Regina shook her head, “ the Snow Queen is perceptive. She knows how I feel about you, how we feel about each other. We need to be careful, she will try to use that against us. You are my weakness and I am yours. People will try to exploit that.”

Emma stepped forward again, cupping Regina’s face between her hands, “let them try Regina. We may be each other’s weakness but we are also each other’s greatest strength. We are stronger together.”

Regina leaned into her touch, smiling but her eyes were still full of worry. “Meet me at your parents house.” She started to walk away but Emma protested, “My tire, Remember? It’s a bit of a hike from here.”

Regina turned around and laughed. She flicked her wrist and Emma’s front tire was filled with air again. Regina’s eyes returned to Emma’s, something unfamiliar in her gaze, something Emma couldn’t place. It was the same way she caught Regina looking at Henry sometimes. Regina’s gaze held so much weight of words left unsaid. Emma knew they both had avoided saying what they really felt yet. Neither had admitted the real depth of what they felt for each other. Regina had come closest, confessing that she had fallen in love with Emma but still had not said those three words. In that moment, Regina didn’t need to, her eyes said it all. Emma’s breath caught in her throat.

Regina looked stunning. She had never seemed more powerful or vulnerable than she did in that moment, staring at Emma.

Emma stepped forward but Regina shook her head, backing away a few steps. “see you soon,” she whispered before raising her hands, vanishing behind light purple magic.


	10. Family Powwow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina meets with the Charming's and Elsa to discuss their options

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter is in Regina's POV. let me know what you guys think :)

Regina sat in the Charming’s apartment watching Snow try to manage the town budget while holding little Neal. Neal was fussing and crying, and Snow was beginning to look frazzled. Emma hadn’t arrived yet, she had called saying that something had come up but she would be over soon. If Regina had to guess, Emma was trying to get Rumpelstiltskin’s help with their Ice Queen problem. Regina could sense Emma’s frustration and worry.

This was a new experience for Regina. She had never connected with someone this way before. She had never been able to actually feel what someone else felt. Nor had she really heard of anything in her magical lessons. Both her and Emma had powerful Magic in their bloodlines. Regina almost wondered if this was normal between two magical people with True Love. True love was a powerful magic all on it’s own, Snow and David were prime example’s of that magic at work. Regina wondered if that only intensified if both parties possessed magical ability. It would certainly explain being able to communicate with each other, being able to feel what the other felt. It would also explain why their magic together was so much more potent than the magic they could perform alone.

Regina felt Emma’s  sense of self satisfaction and she smirked. Emma must have found a way to get Gold to cooperate. She let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding back.

Regina turned her attention to the frazzled woman holding a now screaming Baby Neal. Regina stood and approached Snow. “Need some help?” she asked.

Snow glanced at her, exhaustion clearly written across her face. Regina wondered if Snow had taken any time for herself recently and almost smiled at how similar the two of them were.

“ I can’t get him to settle down, these numbers are not making any sense and I just cant take the screaming anymore.” Snow confessed, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush. Regina nodded, she certainly understood.

“ yeah, Henry was that way too when I first had him. I worried so much, worried I didn’t know how to be a mom, wondering how I was going to balance everything while carrying him around. I finally realized that he was unhappy because I was. He was responding to my stress.”

Snow started to get defensive but Regina cut her off, “ let me try for a few minutes Snow, I just want to help.”

Snow evaluated her for a moment before nodding. Regina took Neal from her arms gently. The baby’s disposition changed instantly. He stopped crying as Regina walked around the room, cuddling him to her chest, cooing to him softly. Within minutes he was asleep against her chest. Regina felt her heart fill with a warmth not unlike what she had experienced when she first held Henry in her arms. This was familiar to her, this was something she knew how to do well.

Regina continued walking around the room quietly with Neal sleeping, her continuing to whisper to him softly. Soon, she became aware of two sets of eyes on her. she glanced up to see Emma leaned against the post in the middle of the room, smiling at Regina with an expression full of what Regina could only guess was love and admiration. Regina felt her heart warm under Emma’s gaze. Turning away, Regina realized Snow was watching her too, her expression half grateful, half envious. Regina glanced between the two women, unsure of what to do. She had stopped rocking Neal, frozen between the two women fixated on her.

Emma stepped forward, her arms open. Regina gently shifted Neal into Emma’s safe arms. Unable to resist, Regina brushed her lips across Neal’s little forehead as she retrieved her pinky finger from the baby’s surprisingly strong grasp. She glanced up at Emma and blushed at the expression she found in her eyes.

 _You are amazing_ , Emma’s voice filled her heart and her mind. Regina wanted to kiss Emma in that moment but thought better of it. she cleared her throat softly and turned to Snow.

“Maybe I could help with that budget?” she asked softly. She hoped Snow didn’t feel threatened. She had no intention of trying to steal her job back but it was obvious Snow desperately needed help.

For her part, Snow nodded, gratefully accepting Regina’s offer. Regina approached, glancing at the balance sheets over Snow’s shoulder. She pointed out Snow’s mistakes gently, helping her correct them. Snow asked her questions about interest, salaries and pay roles. Regina patiently explained to Snow why the Budgets were set up the way they were.

Snow soon had Regina pull up a chair and Regina obeyed. She and Snow worked on the budgets for over an hour while they waited for David to finish up paperwork and come home.

Henry made it home before David. He had grinned when he saw entered the room. Regina and Snow were bent over the budget sheets and the Town Charter, Emma standing behind them, whispering to baby Neal, mimicking Regina’s posture and tone when she had held Neal.

Henry had given each of the women a hug and retreated upstairs, citing homework as his reason for disappearing. Regina had smiled warmly at him, proud that her son was beginning to take initiative on his own to take school seriously, something she knew Emma had played a hand in during the year they had been in New York. when he glanced at them one last time before climbing the stairs she wondered if he was retreating to protect the peaceful moment between the three women who’s only thing in common was their love for him.

Sometime later, David arrived with Elsa, his expression mirroring Henry’s when he walked in. He held several bags of takeout from the only Chinese Restaurant in town. Emma had told him they were all meeting at the small apartment to discuss their options.

David had glanced at the three women and grinned, happy to see that they were all getting along. He was even more thrilled to see Emma holding Neal, seemingly content to hold her baby brother in her arms. He glanced from Emma to Regina, and nodded ever so slightly, acknowledging Regina’s role in getting Emma to hold Neal. Regina had nodded and offered him a soft smile in return.

Soon, Neal was fast asleep, and the rest of the family was gathered around the kitchen, eating quietly. Regina sat between Henry and Emma.

Neither Emma or Regina had much of an appetite. Much had happened earlier that day and their worry overwhelmed their appetites. Regina tried to finish the food on her plate but found it tasteless. She pushed the plate away from her, and glanced around the room.

No one seemed to be eating much besides Henry and even he didn’t seem interested in the food he was consuming. He finished his plate anyway and smiled at his mothers when they nodded in approval. Emma tried to send him upstairs but he dug in his heels.

“ I am not a little kid anymore Ma. I can help. I don’t want to be left out of this.”

Regina had turned to Emma and backed her son up, “he is right, he has a right to know what is going on.” Regina secretly hoped Henry would be able to convince Emma that surrendering herself to the Ice Queen was a bad idea. Emma glanced at her knowingly, _Regina, I know what you are doing. Its not fair. Using our son to gang up on me._

 _You do it to me all the time Miss Swan._ Regina fired back.

Emma’s hand covered hers under the table, her fingers intertwining with Regina’s, giving a light squeeze.

“ okay Henry, you can stay.” Emma had glanced at Regina again, giving her a small smile and another gentle squeeze.

Snow spoke up, “ so what happened today? Regina told me you had a run in with the Ice Queen and that she offered you a deal but she wouldn’t say anything else.”

“ it wasn’t my place Snow, it should come from Emma.” Snow cocked her head at Regina and smiled. She turned her attention to her daughter, “ tell us Emma.”

Emma took a deep breath, “ She wants to exchange Ana for me.” Emma raised her hands stopping her parents immediate protests and Regina’s agreement.

“ she said she wants to help me remember her. if I don’t go with her she will kill Ana and then you guys.”

Elsa’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes full of panic and worry for her sister. Emma rushed to reassure her, “we are not going to let anything happen to Ana Elsa. We will get your sister back.”

“ I don’t want you to risk your life though Emma, nor your family’s lives. There has to be another way.”

Regina cleared her throat. “That is why we are here. To come up with another plan. And we need to do it quickly.”

Henry had remained rather quiet for the last few minutes. She glanced at him and found him flipping through the storybook, hoping to find something about the Snow Queen.

“She’s not in there Kid. We have already looked.” Emma sounded tired.

Henry shook his head, “why not? Everyone else is. She should be here too.”

Emma glanced at Regina, “do you remember my theory about the book?”

Regina nodded, “the book only tells the stories we want told, the way we want them told.”

Emma agreed, “ I think she is not in that book because she doesn’t want her story exposed. We need to find another way to find out about her.”

Elsa spoke up, “ I know I met her in the past, and we know Emma did. Is there a way to retrieve those memories?”

“ without risking both your lives? No.” Regina had been reading through her library trying to find a way to retrieve their memories when the Ice Queen had interrupted Emma earlier that day.

David cleared his throat, “ let’s go over what we do know.” He started ticking off fingers, “ we know Ana is alive, Bo Peep’s staff told us that but won’t reveal her location.”

“The Ice Queen claims she has Ana and intends to harm her but we don’t know that for sure.” Snow added.

“She does seem to know who Ana is and what she looks like because she managed to create a very realistic imitation of Ana when she lured Elsa into that trap.” Emma stated softly.

Emma, Regina and Elsa involuntarily shuddered at the same time. Regina tightened her grip on Emma’s hand as she recalled the massive Ice Monster they had fought and the casual way the Ice Queen had suddenly appeared afterwards. The woman unnerved her in ways she couldn’t begin to understand or explain.

 She felt dangerous, completely removed from the pain she caused. When Regina had caused pain, she had reveled in the destruction she caused, it providing her with the illusion of power. This woman seemed disinterested in power, disinterested in the pain she caused. She seemed completely indifferent towards the people who got in her way, casually causing them pain without seeming to gain any joy our of it. it worried Regina. This woman was more dangerous than she had been she realized at the height of her reign. Regina had been ruled by her emotions, this woman didn’t appear to have any.

Emma was looking at her with concern. Regina cleared her throat, “ she doesn’t seem to be influenced by emotions. Whatever her reasons are for meddling in this town, she is completely unaffected by emotion.”

Emma agreed, “ that makes her more dangerous. More unpredictable. There is no line she wont cross. We don’t know what her motives are but we do know they are not emotional in nature.”

“ this seems to be about control, but for what purpose, I don’t know.” Elsa agreed.

Regina thought about the Snow Queens actions so far. She had reached out to three people. She had established contact with Elsa, trying to get her to trust the woman, trying to isolate her from her new friends. She had initially seemed surprised to see Emma, caught off guard, but quickly began taunting her. and she had reached out to Sydney, manipulating him into helping her and betraying his former Queen. No one had seen him since and Regina doubted they would. He would lay low until everything blew over.

Regina spoke again, “ Emma is the weak link, the chink in her armor. Seeing Emma forced her hand.”

Emma glanced at her surprised, so Regina continued, “ think about it, how much of her did we see before she spotted you? she was content to work on her plan slowly before that. Doesn’t it feel like she had accelerated things a bit?”

Emma nodded thoughtfully, “ yeah, it does, taunting me, giving me an ultimatum.”

“ you are a threat to her plan, she wants you out of the way, she wants you under her control. If you go with her, you will be giving her exactly what she wants.”

Emma nodded again. “ so how do we stop her, with this knowledge.”

A sharp rap sounded at the door.

“ that would be Mr. Gold.” David said.

He approached the door. Mr Gold stood behind the door, in his usual attire. “ Evening Dearies, you called me for help?”

David nodded and invited him in.

He stepped past the door frame and evaluated the room full of people smirking, “ well, well, look at this, it’s a cozy Charming Family meeting.”

Emma’s hand tensed in hers, _I cant shake the feeling that he knows exactly what is going on and is somehow involved._

Regina smiled at Emma’s voice in her head. She was beginning to get used to the Saviors frequent interruptions into her thoughts. _That is because he makes it his business to know and be involved._

 _I dont like it._ Emma confessed. _I dont trust him_

 _neither do I dear, but regardless, we need his help._ Regina gave Emma what she hoped was a reassuring smile but Emma's gaze was locked on Gold. 

 


	11. A New Kind of Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Charming Family holds a Family Meeting, inviting extended family as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit shorter but there are still some major developments. enjoy! please let me know what you think in the comments. i love the kudos but would love some feedback as well :)

Emma couldn’t help but glare at Gold, remembering how unhelpful he had been earlier that day when she swung by his place. He had made several cryptic remarks about her relationship with Regina but otherwise was not forthcoming. He had deflected any questions about his knowledge of the Ice Queen. After several minutes of bribing him, Belle stepped in and He had finally agreed to come meet them after dinner to see if he could be of assistance.

Gold only helped when it benefitted him, that or when Belle jumped in the middle. He would do almost anything for Belle. Emma knew Gold still had his dagger but didn’t feel it was her place to inform Belle that her new husband was lying to her and most definitely up to his old tricks, dragging others like Hook down with him.

Gold joined the others in the small living room, refusing a chair. Instead he adopted his pose, feet apart, hands resting on his cane. He looked perfectly in control, as if he knew exactly how this conversation would play out. He could see the future Emma remembered, and she wondered how that gift worked. She shook her head, it didn’t sound like a gift, it sounded more like a curse.

Emma felt Regina’s hand briefly tighten over hers, Regina’s thumb gently caressing the back of her hand. _You are glaring at him dear._

Emma immediately glanced at Regina surprised. _How did you do that? Usually it’s me that initiates it._

 _We have a connection remember?_ Emma saw the small smile tugging at the corners of Regina’s mouth. Her eyes danced with amusement and a hint of mischief.

Emma shook her head and glanced away, realizing that Snow had been observing their silent exchange with an odd look on her face. Emma blushed and started to reclaim her hand from Regina but the brunette tightened her hold on Emma’s hand, pulling it onto her knee. _Let her stare._

Emma wanted to laugh, Regina would take pleasure in Snow’s discomfort with Regina’s blatant affection for her daughter.

David glanced between Snow and the two women holding hands on the couch and cleared his throat, “ now that everyone is here, we need to figure out how to stop the Ice Queen. Anyone have any ideas?”

Emma nodded seriously, “actually I do. I talked to Gold about it earlier today. Bo Peep’s staff. It usually tells you how to find the person you are trying to find. You get a visual clue. It didn’t work the last time we tried to find Ana but what if we could get it to work? I doubt the Ice Queen will actually bring Ana to trade. She will keep her nearby if she has her, if she doesn’t, she will try to bluff with that ice person again.

I say we distract her, me and Regina, we keep the Ice Queen busy while you guys find Ana. Between Gold, Regina and I, surely we can get that staff to work, we are the three most powerful magic holders in this town. No offense Elsa.”

Elsa nodded and laughed, “none taken. You are right. I imagine I could be more powerful if I could actually control my magic, but I can’t. It’s driven by fear. And when I am afraid, I lose control.”

Emma nodded, “I used to be the same way, but Regina has helped me learn to channel it, to control it, to use my emotions to my advantage instead of being ruled by them.”

Elsa glanced at Regina, “do you think you could teach me how to control it?”

Regina nodded thoughtfully, the doubt clear in her warm brown eyes. “ I could certainly try, but I don’t know how good of a teacher I am. Teaching Emma was easier because her magic seems instinctive anyway, and our magic seems to be connected.”

Emma shot Regina a look before turning back to Elsa, “ she is a good teacher, her methods are just… a bit unorthodox.” Snow and David both shot concerned looks at Emma before glaring at Regina.

“Relax guys, I was never in any danger, Regina wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

Henry agreed, “Mom is a good teacher, and she is very careful. But we don’t have time for magic lessons right now. The Ice Queen is coming for my ma tomorrow.”

Regina nodded, “so the plan is that Emma and I put on a magic show, distract the Ice Queen until you guys get Ana. Once that happens, then what? She is powerful. We still don’t know what she wants with Emma, I don’t think she is going to just give up. We need to know what her bigger plan is.”

Emma turned to Regina, “actually, I have been thinking about that. If she is toying with me, Elsa and now you, she is after our magic. She wants us under her control. The question is why.”

Gold cleared his throat, “I am afraid you are right Sheriff. I have come to believe she intends to come after me. She cannot beat me alone, so she intends to use the three of you to help her to it. if she absorbs each of your magical abilities, she will have what she needs.”

“Then why bother taunting us?” Emma asked.

“Or forcing my magic out of me?” Elsa adds.

“So she is after my magic as well?” Regina’s tone was one of puzzlement.

Gold laughs, “Of course she is dearie, you have extremely powerful magic. She took your magic for it’s magical properties.”

 Regina glanced at Gold with a sudden understanding, “each of us possess powerful magic, but the two of you are not in touch with your magic. She is trying to force it to the surface. She cannot hope to contain or control magic unless you master it first. She doesn’t just absorb your magic, but your knowledge and mastery of it.”

Gold nods in agreement. “Now you are getting it.”

Emma shoots a look at Gold. “Why is she after you Gold, what did you do to her?”

He laughed, “I have a complicated past with her, as I do with most people.”

Emma glared at him until he sighed and relented, “I helped her family contain her in that urn after she destroyed her sister with magic. She was jealous of her sisters, believing that her family loved her less and feared her for her magic. Unfortunately that became true as her rage grew, and she ended up killing one of her sisters. Her parents were forced to come to me for help. She remained contained until she was released by your sister’s former fiancé when he attempted to contain you.” Gold pointed the ball of his cane at Elsa.

Elsa shook her head, “ I don’t remember that.”

“You don’t remember that because she doesn’t want you to remember yet. Once she is done with me, she intends to make you all a new family, a powerful, magical family. She intends to replace the family that did away with her. you would all in essence become sisters, her being the mother figure since you were all rejected in one way or another by your parents.”

Snow started to protest, but David gave her a sad look and the both glanced at an uncomfortably shifting Emma. She still hadn’t told anyone but Regina that the Ice Queen had once been her foster mother. She certainly didn’t think now was the time to spill that news, especially in light of the new information.

Emma realized that Gold had told them all of this expecting that they would all protect him, even if it was only to protect themselves.

Regina laughed coldly, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the room, “She is delusional if she thinks that any of us will want to be a family with that woman.”

“That she is dearie, but nevertheless, that is her plan.”


	12. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Emma and Regina have trouble sleeping before the big showdown.

Regina lay in her bed later that night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Her mind was filled with worry, for Henry, for Emma. There were too many ways their plan could go wrong tomorrow. Regina didn’t want Henry to end up alone if this plan went south, as all of their plans inevitably did. Regina had a sudden memory from one of the movies she watched with Henry recently. “When have any of our plans actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.” Regina wasn’t overly fond of the highly inaccurate depiction of magic the Harry Potter Series presented, but still, that quote kept playing over and over in her mind.

Regina felt the uneasiness settle over her like a dark shroud, making sleep impossible. She sighed, throwing the comforter back and walked to the mirror on her vanity. She stared at her reflection for several moments, trying to calm her mind. For whatever reason, her mind reached for the one thing that always calmed her. Emma.  She knew she wasn’t the only one deeply concerned and troubled. She could still feel the strong emotional connection to Emma. The Blonde Savior was just as restless as she was.

Regina didn’t realize that Emma appeared before her in the mirror. Regina was completely lost in thought, testing the strength of her connection to Emma without intending to. She could almost see the savior wrestling with her worry in her bed, tossing and turning, cursing at the mattress under her. Regina started to smile at the image until she realized that somehow, she was actually in the room with her now, watching Emma fight in her sleep.

“What the hell?” Regina muttered under her breath. She turned around, glancing around the small room. She hadn’t even used any magic to get here. So how was she here instead of in her room?

She heard cursing behind her and then her name in a panicked voice. Regina turned to see Emma fighting something invisible, calling Regina’s name again and then Henry’s. suddenly realization dawned on Regina. She hadn’t been the one completely unnerved after all. She wasn’t the one truly afraid of leaving Henry alone. It was Emma she had been feeling all along.

 Regina moved to the bed, grabbing Emma’s shoulders, gently shaking her. Emma didn’t wake. She just fought all the harder, nearly screaming now. Regina sighed and climbed onto the bed. She grabbed Emma and tugged her into her arms, holding her close, trying to keep herself out of reach of Emma’s fingernails as she continued to lash out. Regina let her flail until Emma started releasing electricity from her hands.

Cursing, Regina grabbed Emma’s hands pinning them against the blonde in a tight embrace. She moved closer, not leaving Emma any wiggle room and held on tightly until Emma exhausted herself. “ stop it Emma, you are gonna kill someone doing that.”

Emma fought harder, and Regina realized that was the wrong thing to say.

“You are safe Emma, its just me.shhh. its all going to be okay. I wont let anything happen to us, or Henry.” Regina whispered to Emma who was now simply shaking in her arms. Regina was very worried about Emma. That must be some nightmare she was having, to have this reaction.

Regina closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against Emma’s cheek. She focused all of her energy, reaching for Emma, trying to connect with Emma’s mind, the way Emma had connected with her.

 _You are safe Emma_. Emma stilled in her arms.   _Henry is safe. I am safe. Its okay dear. Its just a dream._

Emma went limp in her arms, and the lack of motion terrified Regina more than the thrashing around had. _Emma dear, wake up. please. I need to know you are okay._

Regina brushed the hair back from Emma’s sweat drenched forehead.“ Emma, please wake up.” She cringed at the hint of fear in her voice. When had she become so attached to the Savior that she constantly needed reassurance that she was alright? She shook her head, she was starting to sound like Emma, always asking if Regina was okay.

“ ’Gina?” Emma’s voice was husky, unsure.

Regina nearly laughed in relief, “You are okay Miss Swan. It was just a dream.”

“ ‘Gina, what are you doing here?” sleepy green eyes found hers. Emma’s brow was scrunched in confusion. Regina fought the sudden urge to lean down and kiss Emma’s brow until the confusion and worry faded away. Instead she gently loosened her grip on the blonde, gently laying Emma’s head in her lap. Her thin silk pajama’s did little to insulate her from Emma’s body heat.

“You were having a nightmare.” Regina stated, knowing that answered nothing. Emma simply stared at her until she continued, “ I don’t know how I got here. I didn’t use any magic. I was having trouble sleeping. I got up and went to the mirror. I think I saw you in the mirror and then suddenly, I was here instead of in my room.”

Emma chuckled softly, “ spying on me while I am asleep now are we?”

“Not intentionally.” Regina retorted before realizing Emma was teasing her. She glanced at the blonde in her lap and smirked, “ you interrupted my sleep with your nightmare, and I had to do something about if if either of us was going to sleep tonight.”

Emma watched her in silence for a moment, “you made the nightmare stop. How did you do that?”

Regina shook her head, “ I don’t know. I just, connected with you, tried to reassure you, like you did for me.”

Emma’s head bobbed in her lap, “Well it worked. Thank you Regina.”

Regina simply nodded in acknowledgement. Emma smiled at her and turned her head into Regina’s stomach, her hot breath tickling the skin under her silk pajamas. Regina’s breath caught at the pleasant sensation Emma’s breath created. She could easily imagine Emma’s hot breath elsewhere on her body. She blushed at the thought, ashamed that she wanted more out of Emma in this moment.

Regina slipped out of under Emma, ignoring her confused and hurt expression. She crawled off the bed intending to leave, but Emma caught her hand.

“Could you…" Emma hesitated, clearly unsure of herself, " would you stay Regina? You don’t have to keep holding me, but I think we both might sleep better if we are in the same room tonight.” Emma sounded shy and vulnerable.

Regina glanced at Emma and sighed. She was exhausted, and the idea of spending the night next to Emma sounded much more appealing than trying to sleep in that big empty house of hers. Besides, Henry was here. She could protect him better if she was close by. She couldn’t resist the look on Emma’s face, an expression full of ridiculous hope. Emma really wanted her to stay.

  Regina nodded and slid back onto the bed until her head hit a pillow. She felt Emma lay down next to her. They both lay on their sides, turned away from each other on opposite sides of the bed. Regina missed having Emma in her arms but wasn’t ready to make that admission yet. It was so much easier to be open with Emma when she was asleep.

Regina sighed softly as she heard Emma turn over to face Regina’s back. She didn’t move any closer to Regina, and she didn’t say a word. Regina waited until Emma’s breathing evened out before turning to face the blonde. She was startled to see that Emma was still awake, quietly watching her with a bemused expression. Regina wanted to turn back over and avoid Emma’s piercing gaze but found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. They lay there silently for several minutes, content to simply stare at each other.

At some point, Emma’s hand found hers and joined them together between them. Emma smiled at their joined hands and let her eyes slowly flutter close. Regina watched Emma drift off to sleep with a soft smile on her face. Regina couldn’t help but let a small smile work its way across her own features. This blonde was slowly breaking down all of Regina’s walls. She knew the blonde had deliberately slowed her breathing, knowing full well Regina wouldn’t face her until she thought she was asleep. Emma knew her so well, and knew exactly how to break through her carefully constructed walls.

Even more surprising, Regina was okay with Emma’s determination to break through. She wanted Emma to keep breaking through, she wanted Emma to know her. She was still afraid that Emma would one day see her as the Evil Queen, take Henry and run, but the more she let Emma in, the more that fear faded.

Regina waited until she was sure Emma was sound asleep before she slipped her hand from Emma’s brushing blonde locks from Emma’s forehead. Regina raised herself onto her elbow, leaning over Emma, brushing her lips across the blondes eyebrows, finally allowing herself to give into the impulse she had been fighting since their first kiss. Regina cupped Emma’s face in her hand, her thumb tracing over Emma’s features, drinking in the sight of Emma with her guard completely down.

This was a side of Emma Regina knew she was privileged to see. Her heart warmed when she realized that Emma trusted her so deeply that she would allow her to be this close when Emma was so vulnerable. Regina leaned forward again, her hair falling around her face, curtaining them both. She let her lips rest against Emma’s forehead for a moment before laying back down beside her and rejoining their hands.

Regina let her eyes close, her fingers tightening around Emma’s, tugging her a little bit closer. Regina drifted off to sleep peacefully for the first time in a long time, taking comfort in the simple contact with Emma. For now, it was enough. She dreamt of pleasant things, family dinners, picnics and movie nights with Emma and Henry, her little family. She slept soundly through the night and the early hours of the morning. She continued to sleep until she heard a startled shriek that only could have come from her perfect former step daughter, Snow White.


	13. surprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow learns a valuable lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole chapter is in Snow's perspective :)

Snow woke earlier than usual. She was uneasy about the showdown between the Ice Queen and her daughter later that day. She had considerable trouble sleeping the night before because of her fear. She was terrified of losing her daughter again, and puzzled as to what was happening between Emma and Regina. Every time her eyes closed, the image of Regina claiming her daughter’s hand and pulling it into her lap flashed through her mind. Regina had stared at Snow defiantly, daring her to comment on the show of affection. What did it mean?

Snow had suspected that Regina had fallen in love with her daughter, and she had wondered if Emma returned those feelings. She had talked about it with David several times since Neverland. He had always told her to not worry about it and refrain from meddling. Just yesterday David had come in and told her that Regina had in fact fallen in love with Emma but Emma was scared of getting hurt.

Snow had initially snorted, “For good reason.”

But David had silenced her with a look, “she isn’t scared of getting hurt because of Regina, and you know it Snow.” Snow had bowed her head, ashamed. It was so easy to blame everything wrong on Regina and Regina had always seemed content to let her until Neverland. Taking responsibility for her role in Emma’s pain was so much harder than passing the blame off to Regina.

Snow had seen the long glances between Emma and Regina. She had seen Regina watch Emma walked way from her countless times, a sad and puzzled half smile tugging at her lips. She hadn’t missed Regina’s emphasis on _our magic_ when she had tried to convince Emma to join her in trying to find Henry that way. Since then, she had witnessed countless conversations between the two women, many of them hostile since Marian’s sudden reappearance.

There was no mistaking the intensity of Emma and Regina’s relationship, nor was there any missing the fact that together, their magic was fearsome. Regina and Emma were powerful on their own, but together, Snow shook her head, feeling very sorry for anyone who was stupid enough to cross them. Snow wasn’t sure how she felt about the possibility of a relationship between her former step mother and her daughter. It would be interesting for sure, and no doubt every bit as intense as their current relationship, friendship?  She sighed, realizing she wasn’t exactly sure what Regina and Emma were right now. One thing was for sure, it was so incredibly complicated.

She had seen Emma and Regina grow closer, only to end up not talking because of another foolish fight. The most recent being Emma’s interference with Marian. Snow had been sure that was the end of the fragile friendship between the two women, but somehow, they had found a way to get past it. Most likely, Emma had forced the issue. She did take after her mother in that regard, refusing to give up on people, fighting for her friends.

Snow slid out of bed, careful not to disturb Charming or Neal. She smiled fondly at the sleeping baby in the crib, grateful that for once, he had slept through the whole night. Maybe the sleepless nights were soon going to be a thing of the past.

Snow headed to the kitchen and worked quietly. She grabbed eggs, milk and bacon from the fridge. Soon she was working quickly in the kitchen.

She heard Henry’s feet pad into the room and smiled at him when he asked if he could help. She had him wash his hands and start flipping pancakes. She intended to make sure that everyone had a good breakfast this morning. They had a difficult day ahead of them and Snow would be unable to help later. So she was doing what she could now. She considered inviting Regina over for breakfast as well, and glanced at Henry.

“ Henry, why don’t you call your mother, see if she wants to come over for breakfast…”

Henry puzzled for a moment over which mother Snow was referring to so she clarified, “ Regina. Could you call her and see if she wants to come over and eat with us. Somehow I doubt she enjoys cooking for one.”

Henry beamed at Snow and dashed off to call his adoptive mom. A few minutes later he was back, shrugging, “she didn’t answer.”

Snow caught the disappointed expression all over Henry’s face, “Did you leave a message?”

“Yeah, so maybe she will get it…” he didn’t look convinced. “ she never misses my calls.”

Snow glanced at the clear concern all over Henry’s face and sighed, “ I know sweetie, but there is a lot going on right now…”

Henry’s concern faded slowly, “ you are probably right, maybe she is still sleeping and will call back when she wakes up.”

Snow nodded satisfied. “Will you set the table for me Henry?” her grandson nodded and eagerly set about the task. She shook her head smiling. Henry was such a great kid. Between his two mothers, he had been raised well. He was well mannered, obedient, respectful and fiercely intelligent. It was odd how Snow could pinpoint exactly what trait he inherited from what mother. It was almost as if he had two birth mothers, both had influenced him so heavily. In fact, she hadn’t known Neal well, but in the short time she had spent with Henry’s father, she hadn’t spotted any of the man’s traits in his young son.

She wondered if Henry missed his father’s influence in his life or if his two mothers were enough. He certainly seemed content with Regina and Emma as his parents. He rarely even mentioned Neal and when he did, it was akin to how he talked about Hook or any of Emma’s other previous boyfriends. He knew of them, but didn’t seem invested in any of them, nor they in him.

Snow shook her head, for having a rather odd and dysfunctional family, Henry seemed to be flourishing, as long as his two moms were getting along. When they were on the outs, all three of them seemed to suffer.

She hoped that whatever was happening between Emma and Regina would play out with Henry in mind. She didn’t want to see any of them get hurt.

David entered the kitchen and kissed his wife, snapping her out of her deep trance. She glanced around startled, finding Henry removing the now fully cooked bacon from the stovetop. She had lost track of cooking and her grandson had stepped in and saved breakfast. He laughed at her apologetic expression, “now I know where ma gets her cooking ability.” He snickered, “or lack there of.”

Snow pretended to be affronted, “ I know how to cook young man, I just got distracted watching you.”

He laughed, “uh huh, sure… you totally zoned out.”

David walked by and snagged a piece of bacon, sidestepping and laughing when Snow tried to throw an oven mitt at him.

“You can wait one more minute. I am going to go get Emma and we are going to eat as a family. Henry, try to call Regina again.” Snow climbed the stairs to the small loft where Emma slept. She called down to David, “I know exactly how many pieces of bacon there are David, don’t even think about touching any.”

She laughed when she heard Henry and David snicker below. She shook her head, _boys._ She thought.

She rapped softly on Emma’s door, “ Emma, breakfast is ready.” She heard no response. She opened the door quietly and peaked her head around the corner, “ Emma? Sweetie…” her words died in her throat, her mouth dropped open in shock, her hand trying to cover the shriek of surprise coming out of her mouth but it was too late.

Emma was sound asleep, her arm and leg casually thrown over Regina’s still form. Regina had one hand resting gently against Emma’s face.

 _What was Regina doing here?_ Snow noted Regina’s silk pajama’s , grateful that the two women were clothed at least. Snow blushed furiously as the two women woke up and became aware of her presence in the doorway. Regina untangled herself from Emma looking positively horrified that she had been caught cuddling with Emma. She glanced at Emma and said something to her in a low voice before addressing Snow, “ it’s not what it looks like Snow. We didn’t…” her eyes narrowed defensively, “why did you barge in to your grown daughter’s room anyway?”

“ I knocked” Snow managed weakly before it occurred to her that Regina was in Emma’s room and she had no idea when that had happened, “ what are you doing in my grown daughter’s room?”

Emma scooted away from Regina but took the woman’s hand in her own before turning to face Snow.

“ I had a nightmare last night. Regina sensed that I was having a bad dream and… she came over to help.”

Snow’s eyebrows inched higher and higher, “she sensed it? Why would you have her come over here when I am down stairs? You could have come to me.” Snow couldn’t help the hurt and jealousy from seeping into her tone.

Regina cleared her throat, her voice still husky from sleep. At least, that is what she hoped Regina’s voice was husky from, “she didn’t call me. I couldn’t sleep last night. Emma and I appear to share a unique connection and we can sense when the other is in distress.”

 Regina raised her hand to stop the question ready to fly off of Snow’s tongue, “ I don’t know how this connection developed Snow, but the fact of the matter is that it exists, and I felt that Emma was having a nightmare. And I showed up here, unintentionally, I can assure you. I calmed her down and we both fell asleep. Nothing else happened.”

David came flying around the corner behind her and stared openmouthed at the scene unfolding in front of him. The look on his face mirrored the look on Emma’s face when she had walked in on her and David having a private moment in bed. Snow blushed, now understanding her daughter’s horror. Regina was growing more aggravated and embarrassed by the minute, tugging her hand out of Emma’s grasp and backing off of the bed. Emma looked positively wounded that Regina had jerked away from her.

“do you two idiots mind giving us a little privacy?” Regina snapped, backing herself into the corner. She looked like she was contemplating poofing herself out of there but Snow figured she had too much self respect to retreat now, while she was still in her pajamas.

Snow nodded and grabbed Charming’s arm, backing him out of the room. “ Regina, we would love for you to stay for breakfast. Henry called your house phone to invite you but you uh, didn’t answer.” Snow blushed even more and stammered out, “ anyway, the invitation still stands.” She backed out of the room and shut the door firmly behind her, blocking Henry from joining the party. He tried to work around her but she gave him a firm shake of the head, “ head back downstairs Henry, nothing to see here.”

“ really? Cuz I coulda sworn I heard you talking to my mom, in Emma’s room.” Henry was grinning. She shooed him down the stairs and tried to banish the image of Regina and Emma from her mind, but was failing.

David was shaking his head thoroughly confused, “that happened a bit faster than I thought it would… I told Regina that Emma would come around, but I didn’t think that would happen for a while yet…” his face was red from embarrassment.

Snow shook her head laughing, “ I don’t think that was what you thought it was. Emma had a nightmare and somehow Regina knew and showed up to comfort her. According to Regina nothing else happened, and I believe her. She seemed completely off guard when she woke up and realized that she had been cuddling with Emma. I don’t think that is how they fell asleep.”

David shook his head, “ somehow that doesn’t help…”

Snow laughed, “tell me about it.”

David seemed to process everything for a moment, “ so does this mean, they haven’t come to terms with their feelings for each other yet?”

Snow sighed, “ I honestly don’t know, but I get the feeling we are about to find out.”

David sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “ I wish they would just figure it out already. The suspense is killing me.”

Snow laughed, tugging him to her. She cupped his face with her palms and kissed him senseless. She pulled back and grinned, “well, you do have to remember that it took us a long while to accept our feelings as well Charming. And Emma is our daughter. She doesn’t just launch into loving someone. It takes time.”

“ its taken them forever as it is Snow. Everyone can see what is between them but them.”

“Patience Charming, patience. They will work it out, and after this morning, I think it will be sooner rather than later.” Snow reached up and kissed her husband again, ignoring Henry’s grumbling over the display of affection. Snow pulled back grinning and motioned for them to sit at the table.

She puzzled over the joy and hope in her heart. She so wanted for Regina and Emma to find their happy ending, and more now than ever, she believed it just may be with each other. She shook her head, surprised that she was not just okay with that, but desperately hoping for it. She wanted them all to be a family, and it just felt right to have Regina as a part of it.


	14. Uncharming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma sit through an uncomfortable family breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's fluffy, sorry, couldn't help it. I love playing with Regina's cantankerous, playful side. the next couple of chapters are going to be fast paced and serious, so enjoy the sweet moments before the shitstorm ;) I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. if i did it right, you should laugh a couple of times. let me know whatcha think...

Emma turned to Regina as soon as the door closed. She could tell the brunette wanted to disappear. Emma moved to Regina’s side and gently turned the brunette until she was facing Emma. Cupping Regina’s face in her hands, she smiled at her, “hey, it could have been worse.”

Regina shook her head, “not really Miss Swan. I need to go home and get changed.”

Emma didn’t let go, “please stay for breakfast. Don’t make me face them alone.”

“ I cant go to breakfast in my pajama’s, don’t be ridiculous Miss Swan… I need to go home. I have had quite enough of the unCharmings embarrassing me for one day…”

Emma dropped her hands and turned away, “ I am a charming too Regina.” She headed for her closet, trying to ignore the pain in her chest. Regina had reverted to her guarded self. Any progress she thought she had made was now gone.

She heard Regina sigh and then the telltale swoosh that accompanied Regina’s magic poof, she smelled Apples on the air. Emma sat on the edge of the bed, angrily wiping the tears in her eyes. She was beyond frustrated. Every time she made progress with Regina, something changed and Regina slipped away again. They had been so close last night, both unguarded. Now Regina had her walls and defenses up again, and she had left Emma to face her parents alone.

Emma had her face in her hands, and didn’t hear the soft swoosh of magic as Regina returned to the room.

She let silent tears slide down her cheeks. She didn’t know why she was so upset, maybe she was just tired of watching Regina leave.

“Oh Emma.” Soft hands tug Emma’s fingers from her face. Three fingers tip Emma’s face until her eyes meet soft brown ones. Regina is kneeling in front of her, no longer in pajama’s but in one of her power suits. “Why are you crying?” Regina’s voice was soft, her own eyes welling up at Emma’s display.

“ I thought… I thought you left.” Emma hated how forlorn she sounded. Regina smiled softly at Emma.

“ I went to change clothes Emma, I wasn’t about to face your parents in my Pj’s again. Once was embarrassing enough.” Regina’s tone was gentle and patient. “ I wouldn’t leave you to face the two of them alone. _No one_ should have to face them alone.” Emma couldn't help but laugh as Regina brushed away the last of her tears with her thumb.

Regina glanced at Emma’s pj’s and shook her head “there is no way you are going downstairs looking like that.” Regina snapped her fingers and stood back, appraising Emma’s new outfit. Emma glanced down and laughed. Regina had put Emma in her signature tank top, jeans, boots and leather jacket. Regina gave her an appreciative hum and offered Emma her hand. Emma stood grinning, her tears forgotten, taking Regina’s hand and the two of them headed downstairs to face Emma’s parents.

As they headed down the stairs, Emma let her eyes roam over Regina. Her hair and makeup was perfect, as usual. There was no hint of the sleepy Regina from a few minutes ago. She wore a black pencil skirt, a form fitting, perfectly pressed white dress shirt and that black jacket with the simple white trim. Emma shook her head. Regina was wearing her armor. Being dressed well was so important to the brunette, it gave her the illusion of power and control, and Emma couldn’t help but smile. It was working for her. Regina’s confidence had returned. She didn’t mind holding Emma’s hand now that she was dressed. She didn’t seem to mind that their shoulders brushed constantly either.

Snow, David and Henry sat around the table waiting for them when they arrived. Two chairs sat empty, side by side. Snow sat at one end of the table and David at the other. All three glanced up when Regina and Emma entered the room. Regina released her hand and found her seat, curtly asking David to pass the bacon. Emma sighed and took her seat next to Regina, accepting the bacon plate from Regina when she had finished with it. Regina gave her a soft smile and returned her attention to her own plate.

No one said much during breakfast and Emma was grateful. Henry eyed her and Regina curiously, waiting for someone to explain what was going on. Regina took Emma’s hand once the meal was over and cleared her throat.

“Henry, there is something your mother and I need to tell you.”

“There is?” Emma asked, earning a look from both of her parents and Regina. “ I mean, there is…” it still came out sounding more like a question. Regina gave her hand a light squeeze.

“ I already know you two are in love with each other.” Henry quipped, “ I knew that before Snow barged in on you this morning.”

Regina shot a look at Snow, “what did you tell him?!”

Snow raised her hands desperately, “ I told him nothing. Not a word, I swear.”

Suddenly, the humor of the whole situation struck Emma and she burst out laughing. Snow and David stared at her as if she was nuts and Regina simply gave her a withering look, making Emma laugh all the harder.

Henry grinned stupidly at his two mothers and pretty soon the whole table was laughing, even Regina, who let loose a throaty chuckle that made Emma’s heart race a bit faster.  The laughter died in the room slowly and Emma stared at her hand entwined in Regina’s. The connection between them felt so solid, so strong. Losing the ability to use this hand seemed a small sacrifice to make for keeping the connection between them. Regina’s grip grounded her, held her in place, giving her strength and courage.

Emma cleared her throat and looked her son in the eye, “your mom and I, well, we are in love with each other. And we wanted to know if it was okay with you if we started seeing each other.”

 _Wait… you are in love with me?_ Regina’s voice resounded in her mind.

_Of course I am Regina. How did you not know that?_

_Well, this is the first time I have heard you say it._ Regina’s tone wasn’t accusatory but her words stung all the same. It was true, Emma hadn’t said it before now. Her first time saying it wasn’t to Regina but to their son, and somehow, that was wrong. she glanced at Regina, _I am sorry, it took me a while to realize it. I am in love with you Regina. I should have said it sooner._

Regina simply nodded. _You are saying it now, that is good enough for me._

Emma returned her gaze to her son. “So is that okay with you Henry? We want you to have a say in this.”

Henry grinned, “Are you kidding me? I am so okay with this. Its about time you guys realize that you are perfect for each other.”

Emma glanced around the room and found overwhelming love and support. Her parents were even smiling warmly at her, Snow directing her approving smile at Regina as well.

 _Well, this is odd._ Emma grinned at Regina’s voice in her head _. The uncharmings appear to be okay with this. Not sure how I feel about that._

_Get used to it Regina, you are a part of this family now._

Regina glanced at her with mischief dancing in her eyes. “Then they won’t mind if…”

“Regina…” Emma warned but it was too late. Regina gave the uncharmings her best evil smile, grabbed Emma’s face between her palms and kissed her possessively. Emma’s protests were lost in the kiss and after losing the fight to pull back, she finally sighed and let herself enjoy the kiss. Regina’s hold was still firm, pulling her closer but her touch was more gentle now. Regina’s lips moved in sync with hers causing pure heat and desire to course through Emma’s veins. She forgot anyone else was in the room until Henry’s voice broke through, sounding exasperated, “moms! That’s gross!”

Regina finally released Emma, kissing her on the nose and winking at her before her hands fell from Emma’s face. Emma’s face was flushed, her pulse erratic. She ran fingers through her hair and released a shaky breath, trying to bring her body back under control. _Damn that woman._

Emma chanced a glance at her parents, nearly laughing at the way they avoided eye contact with either of the two women. Snow shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Emma saw Henry shaking his head laughing at his adopted mom and Emma turned in time to catch the smirk still all over Regina’s face. _Glad I can still make Snow squirm._

 _You are rotten Regina._ Regina tossed her hair and gave Emma a winning smile,  _I try dear._

Snow and David both caught the glances between Emma and Regina and Snow cocked her head to the side, no doubt wondering what they were saying in the silence. Emma hadn’t told anyone about her ability to communicate with Regina. It seemed too personal, too private to share. It was something that was all their own.

David cleared his throat, still unable to meet either woman’s gaze, “we have a big day ahead of us. We should get moving.”

The room turned serious. Snow rose and took plates into the kitchen, turning down Regina’s offer to magically clean and put the dishes away, “ I need something to keep me busy or I will drive myself nuts with worry.”

Regina had nodded, understanding exactly what Snow meant. They went over the plan again. Henry and David would head to Gold’s shop and help find Ana. Emma and Regina would head to the woods surrounding the town to force the Snow Queen’s attention elsewhere.

As they prepared to leave, Regina donning her black trench coat, Emma her signature Red jacket, Snow approached quietly.

She silently took Emma’s hand and then Regina’s. she stared at the two of them for a long moment, “ take care of each other out there. Come back safe.”

They both nodded. Snow stepped forward and gave Regina a tight hug, ignoring her squeak of protest. Regina was stiff as a board, her eyes pleading with Emma to rescue her. Emma smiled and shrugged her shoulders, _I told you to get used to it, you are a charming now._

Regina made a face, _I am not an uncharming…_

Emma grinned when Regina visibly relaxed and returned the hug after a  long moment. Regina’s expression had softened from surprise and disgust to something close to affectionate towards Snow. She enjoyed seeing this softer side of Regina, and she was thrilled that for once, her family was breaking down Regina’s walls instead of giving her cause to build them.

Snow released Regina and drew Emma into her arms. Emma sighed softly, accepting her mother’s hug. In that moment, it felt more like she was hugging Mary Margaret her friend, instead of her mother. Emma pulled back and chuckled at the tears in her mother’s eyes.

Snow laughed, “Sorry, it’s the hormones”. All three women knew she was lying but chose to let Snow maintain her pride. Regina and Emma gave Snow a nod and a smile, and headed out the door.

Regina waited until they were outside before threading her fingers through Emma’s, giving her a squeeze, _let’s do this._


	15. Charming Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry works with his two grandfathers to save Ana. typical Charming antics ensue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> entirely from Henry's POV....

Henry followed his two grandfathers to the back of Gold’s shop. He had become pretty familiar with Gold’s shop since starting to work there. He had found many of the hidden nooks and crannies where Gold thought he could hide his darker magical artifacts. So when Gold motioned them to stay put as he went around the corner to grab Bo Peep’s staff, Henry knew exactly where it was. He also knew about the safe hidden behind the picture the staff was casually resting against. Altogether Henry had found 6 of those safes hidden around Gold’s shop, each with different locks.

He kept this information to himself, not wanting to blow his cover. He knew that Operation Happy Mongoose’s goal had changed drastically but he still thought it could be useful to familiarize himself with his Grandfather’s shop and the magical items hidden within. So he stayed with David and Elsa, waiting patiently for Gold to return.

When he did, Belle was with him, offering her assistance as well. Gold motioned Henry over, and Henry eagerly went behind the counter, holding the staff as his grandfather instructed, watching carefully as Gold drew faint runes over the staff, muttering softly under his breath. Belle watched with keen eyes as well, no doubt wondering what her husband was doing.

Henry felt sorry for Belle, she seemed to always want to see the best in his grandfather, blindly believing everything he told her. If Henry had discovered one thing since working with his grandfather, it was that his grandfather was not the angel he was trying to portray himself to be. The man always seemed to have something up his sleeve. He was far from redeeming himself. Henry knew that in a lot of ways Gold had changed for the better, but he still had a really long way to go. His mother on the other hand, had come so very far from where she had been a few short years ago. As much as she had resented his bringing his birth mother into their lives, Emma had bene a powerful catalyst for change in Storybrooke and for the former Evil Queen.

Henry thought back over the recent events in Storybrooke and couldn’t help but smile. Emma had helped the former Queen become more and more like the woman his grandmother Snow claimed she used to be. Snow had marveled at how gentle Regina had become, how affectionate and genuine she now was. Henry knew that while his mother claimed she was changing for him, he was not the only one she was trying to change for. Whether she realized it or not, she had changed for her family, and for Emma.

Gold barked something at Henry and he snapped back to attention, holding the staff upright again.

“focus Henry.” Henry nodded apologetically and followed Gold’s instructions to the letter. Gold took the staff from him after a moment and handed it to Elsa.

“ now you should be able to find your sister. It should give you a visual clue now, it will work best for you because you have the strongest connection to her.” Elsa took the staff and held it close, looking through the loop with undiluted hope.

After a moment she gasped, “ its working!. I see… a strange metal box, its very cold on the inside. Oh god, Ana is in there, she will freeze to death.” The panic rose in her voice, reaching a feverish pitch.

David took charge, “ it’s probably the walk in freezer in the Ice Queen’s shop. Let’s go.”

David charged out of the shop, Elsa and Belle hot on his heels. Belle carried several heavy blankets in her arms. Henry followed Gold, waiting as he locked up the shop, then hurried after his wife, walking as fast as he could with the cane. Henry followed him quietly, carrying the warming potions Gold had made to help warm Ana up.

Henry briefly wondered why they were all charging through the streets instead of using David’s truck when that would be much faster. He shrugged it off, figuring this must be more dramatic and heroic, though it wouldn’t be if they didn’t get there in time. If his moms were here they would insist on using the cars, knowing time was precious. Regina would probably even insist on poofing herself there, saving them a lot of time, but he knew his mom’s were busy buying them the time they needed to rescue Ana. He briefly paused, hoping that they were safe. He had heard everyone’s concerns that the Ice Queen was strong and very powerful. He hoped his mom’s could overpower her, as long as they remembered to work together. He shook his head smiling, knowing they would probably forget at first but them Emma would remind Regina that she doesn’t have to do it herself anymore.

His grandfather shot me a knowing glance, “your moms can handle her Henry, don’t worry about them. I would be more worried about us, charging through town drawing all this attention.” Henry laughed, agreeing with Gold’s assessment of this ridiculous plan to rescue Ana. He could almost hear Regina’s retort now, “ I told you running through town was idiotic, I could have poofed us there by now.”

They continued to hurry along, watching a crowd beginning to gather, some even chasing after Charming and band. Henry hoped whatever his moms were doing was enough to keep the Ice Queen focused on them and that this idiotic plan didn’t make it all for naught.

The Charming band rounded the last corner, and Henry watched as his heroic grandfather took the hilt of his sword and smashed it through the glass door, sending shards everywhere. Both Henry and Gold winced at the racket David had created. A crowd forced their way through the doors, feeding off of the nervous energy David, Elsa and Belle were giving off. Gold entered the shop and ordered everyone else to stand back, shaking his head. The usual crowd was here, the dwarves and fairies.

David forced his way through the shop, forcing the door to the freezer open. Elsa rushed inside, crying out Ana’s name. her sister was laying on the cold floor, motionless, in much the same condition as Emma had been when Elsa had accidentally locked her in an icy prison. Elsa screamed her sister’s name, shaking her. Dr Whale appeared suddenly, pushing through the crowd. He knelt next to Ana, laying his head next to hers, listening for her breath. He checked her pulse while motioning Henry and Belle forward. Belled passed him the blankets and he wrapped her in them tightly, then took the potions and poured them onto his hands, and rubbed the potions into Ana’s hands. David stepped forward and scooped Ana into his arms, heading outside of the store, pushing past the onlookers. David glanced around confused for several moments, with Ana in his arms, realizing for the first time that he had no way to get Ana to the hospital since he had left his truck at Gold’s shop.

Luckily for him, Granny pulled up in David’s truck and motioned for him to get in. He breathed his thanks and she gave him a look. “Really David, you should have thought it through before charging across town on foot.”

He nodded sheepishly, “ you are right.”

Elsa and Ana climbed into the bed of the truck, and then turned and lifted Henry up.

“where to?” Granny asked.

David hadn’t thought that through either.

“ I recommend taking her to the Hospital, we have everything you need to make sure she recovers from the hypothermia. We don’t know how long she was in there, so we need to examine her and find out what damage might have been done.” Dr. Whale stated, pushing through the crowd. Elsa’s hand shot to her mouth, trying to stop the worried cry that fell from her lips. David agreed, “ climb in back Whale, we can give you a lift as well.” Henry sighed and moved further back into the corner of the flatbed, really disappointed in the town’s residents. They really didn’t think things through.  Whale joined them in the back of the truck, making the flatbed quite crowded.

Granny tore down the street, cursing at the crowd in her way, blaring on the horn. Once everyone realized who was driving the truck, they parted quickly, no one willing to chance playing chicken with Granny.  Henry gripped the side wall of the truck, praying his mother hadn’t taken the moment to check on them via magic mirror. He could almost hear Regina’s response when they told her the story about the day’s events.

David must have thought the same thing because he twisted around in his seat and leaned out the back window, “maybe it would be best if we didn’t mention this part to your moms.” Henry laughed, “ yeah, probably wouldn’t be good for your health.”

They arrived safely at the hospital and the staff quickly took over. They rushed Ana inside on a gurney and soon she was hooked up to various IV’s and machines. Elsa was the only one allowed to follow her back, everyone else sat and waited in the lobby for a while. Gold arrived soon after, asking if the potions had helped warm Ana. Dr. Whale had simply nodded, “ I cant tell you much about her condition right now but yes, the potions and blankets helped save her life. She wouldn’t have lasted much longer in there.” Gold had nodded satisfied and Belle had grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

“ you saved her life Rumple…” Gold’s expression softened visibly, “it was a group effort.”

David stood and clapped Henry on the shoulder. “ we should probably get back to the house Henry, and update Snow. She must be pretty anxious.”

Henry nodded and followed his grandfather out the door. He thought again of his mothers, wondering how they were faring against the Ice Queen.

Snow ran to David as soon as the apartment door opened, enveloping him in a hug. Henry shook his head and pushed past them, glancing around the room, hoping his moms were back. they weren’t. Snow caught his worried glance. “ they are probably fine Henry. I talked to Emma a few minutes ago, and the Snow Queen hadn’t shown up yet. All they found were several Ice monsters and they took them down fairly easily. They are headed towards the Ice Queens lair now. We should hear from them soon.”

Henry felt something like dread drop into the pit of his stomach. His moms hadn’t found the snow Queen yet. It sounded like she was toying with them, wearing them down before finally appearing to fight them.


	16. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina find the Ice Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some magical violence and bloodshed in this chapter. also, insight on Emma and Ingrid's past.

Emma growled at her ringing phone, prompting a sharp bark of laughter from Regina.

“answer it dear, or she will just keep calling.”

Emma answered the phone, exasperated, “ no mom, we have not found her yet, just a bunch of Ice Monsters… yes mom, I will be careful… yes, we will let you know…” Emma’s fragile patience snapped, “ Mary Margaret, I will call you when we have news…” she hung up the phone, ignoring Regina’s knowing smirk.

To her credit, Regina kept her thoughts to herself, allowing Emma to refocus on the task at hand. So far they had stumbled upon six ice monsters, each of them more challenging than the last, each requiring a bit more magic and effort to defeat.

“ I feel like she is playing with us.” Emma voiced the concern that had been growing for the last hour or so.

Regina nodded, “ she is, she is trying to exhaust our magic before facing us. She has already seen what we can do.”

“ she hasn’t seen anything yet.” Emma was beyond frustration. She was fatigued, the snow monsters were having the desired effect, her magic was depleted, as was her energy. 

Emma paused when Regina’s hand found hers, pulling her to a stop. Regina stepped directly in front of Emma and joined their hands together, “ close your eyes.”

Emma started to protest but Regina cut her off, “ just do it Emma.” Her tone softened, “ trust me.” Emma nodded and obeyed. She felt Regina’s hands tighten around hers and suddenly she felt stronger, more energetic than she had a few minutes ago. Regina’s magic coursed through her, pushing away the fatigue and worry, replacing it with a jolt of pure, undiluted and powerful magic.

Regina let go of her hands and stepped back, “better?”

Emma opened her eyes and smiled at Regina, “yeah actually, much better.” Regina nodded and extended a hand to Emma, the other hand pointed towards the Ice Queens lair, “shall we?”

Emma couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, “thanks for the magical pick me up.”

“you aren’t any good to anyone if you are too exhausted and depleted to fight.” Regina stated simply.

“a simple your welcome e would have sufficed Regina.” Emma retorted as she climbed over a downed tree.

Regina laughed again and kept walking. They kept climbing the hill in front of them, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of another ice monster, or the ice queen but nothing more approached them. They finally reached the crest of the hill, and stopped to rest in the small clearing they stumbled upon. The Ice Queen’s lair was about 500 yards north of them, from here they could see the ice formations at the mouth of the cave. They stood side by side for a moment, watching the cave, scanning the surroundings for any sign of the woman, but they didn’t see her.

“She must be waiting for us inside.” Regina concluded. Emma nodded. They stepped forward to advance on the cave when they heard the distinctive magical poof behind them. They whipped around and found themselves face to face with the Ice Queen, along with three more ice monsters. Her hand was raised, indicating to the ice monsters to stay put, as she stepped closer to the two women in front of her.

“hello again ladies. I see you found my hideout. I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Regina stepped forward, something remarkably like a low growl starting low in her throat. Emma placed a hand on her arm, holding her in place. _Easy Regina…_

Regina stopped, but she never took her eyes off of the woman in front of her.

Ingrid cocked her head to the side, and smiled at Emma, adopting a soft tone, “ Emma dear, how are you?”

“wouldn’t you like to know?” Emma retorted, not trusting Ingrid’s intentions.

“ actually I would like to know, I want us to be a family again. here in this world I go by Sarah Fisher, but in Arendale, I was known as Ingrid. Please, call me Ingrid.” The Queen stepped forward, offering Emma her hand. Emma ignored it and Ingrid dropped her hand awkwardly.

“ if you cared about me why erase my memories of you Ingrid? Why erase my memories of the time I spent in your home, as your foster child?”

 _So we are playing that card now dear?_ Regina cut through her thoughts. She sounded surprised, and concerned.

 _Might as well. might keep her busy for a few minutes._ Emma replied gently. _Just go with it._

Ingrid sighed, ever patiently, her tone implying she was talking to a young child, instead of the grown woman in front of her, “ oh Emma, it was complicated. I never stopped caring about you, I always wanted you to be a part of my family, with me and Elsa. You were taken from my home and thrown back into the foster system, but that wasn’t what I wanted for you. I tried to find you after your eighteenth birthday. I never stopped trying to find you. I wanted you to know that I wanted you, that I didn’t give you up, you were taken from me.”

 _Emma, you seriously can’t believe this…_ Regina’s voice broke through her swirling thoughts.

 _I need to know Regina, besides, we are buying time, remember?_ Regina nodded ever so slightly and refocused on the woman in front of them. Emma could sense her tension, her unease. Emma reached for Regina’s hand, locking their fingers together.

Ingrid actually smiled at their entwined hands, making both of the women shudder uneasily.

_I really don’t like her. can I throw a fireball at her yet?_

Emma fought a smile _, no Regina, we have to buy them time to find Ana, and we need to allow time to replenish our magic, or we wont stand a chance._

Regina huffed, _fine, but I don’t like it._

Ingrid continued,, unaware of the silent conversation between Emma and Regina.

 “ I finally found you in New York, the same night Henry found you. I followed you to Storybrooke. I know I shouldn’t have, but I had to be sure you would be okay. I opened the Ice cream shop so I could stay close if you needed me. You came in one day and saw me. I tried to tell you then but you didn’t believe me… you didn’t trust me.” Ingrid’s voice broke. She took a shaky breath and continued. “ you said you wanted to forget me, that you wanted nothing to do with me, so I..I obliged. I removed your memories of me, but I couldn’t leave.  I had managed to slip into this town unnoticed, but I knew I couldn’t leave unnoticed. Besides, I wanted to be sure you would be okay.”

Emma absorbed this information in silence. She glanced at Regina and then back at Ingrid, “Why are you tormenting the town? If you truly care about me and my wellbeing, you would be happy that I have a family. Why act out now? Why try and get me to remember you, try to make me a part of your family?”

Ingrid shook her head, “ you brought Elsa back with you when you came back from the past. Seeing her here, seeing her with you, I realized I could have my family again. I decided I was going to fight for you both. I want us to be a family Emma.”

“ at the cost of destroying my real family.” Ingrid flinched at the accusation. “ no dear, I would never do that. I am more than willing to accept your family into mine, Henry, Regina, I made room for them in our family. I know those two are important to you and I would never try to separate you from them.”

Emma could feel Regina’s confusion and distrust as well as her own. Ingrid wanted Henry and Regina to be a part of this as well? Emma felt a tension headache starting in her neck.

_Emma, she is lying. She wants to destroy us all._

_I know Regina. I know._

Regina pulled from Emma’s grasp, stepping into the Ice Queen’s face, “Enough of this.” Regina’s tone changed to something dangerous, something not far from the Evil Queen in all her glory. “ Emma has a family that loves her. a family who accepts her for who she is, without ulterior motives. You don’t want to protect Emma or Elsa, you want their magic, my magic, so you can overpower Rumpelstiltskin. You want power, to be unstoppable. Well, dear, you can’t have it.”

 _Regina…_ Emma warned but it was pointless. Regina was not willing to stall anymore. She was itching for a fight with the woman threatening her family.

Twin fireballs appeared in Regina’s hands and she launched them casually at the Ice Queen. Ingrid’s eyes narrowed as she batted the flames aside, “fine, have it your way. You are right. I want power. And now, I will have it. Starting with yours, _your majesty_!”

Ingrid released the ice monsters to attack, and they launched forward as one. Emma and Regina unleashed their magic together without hesitation, taking them out fairly quickly they didn’t stop releasing their magic, they just swept their hands across the line, back and forth as they back away from the monsters. The last monster dropped to his knees before disappearing.

Ingrid stepped back and launched ice at them from her hands, poofing around them frequently, forcing Emma and Regina to stand back to back, turning, trying to cover every angle. Ice flew at them from every direction, Ingrid’s laughter echoing around them.

Emma felt her magic starting to deplete again, but the attacks never let up. Regina launched fireball after fireball, intercepting as many ice spikes as she could while Emma created  a shield, protecting them from the ones Regina missed. They kept turning, backs pressed into one another, working as one. If their lives weren’t in imminent danger, Emma might have found their joint use of magic intoxicating. But their lives were in danger, and their magic was rapidly depleting. And Ingrid knew it. she kept up the volley a bit longer, waiting until Regina and Emma had practically nothing left in their reserves. And then, it stopped.

There was a brief pause and silence after fifteen minutes of Ice flying at them. Emma glanced at Regina, “you okay?”

Regina nodded, exhaustion clearly written all over her face. Emma placed a hand on Regina’s arm, helping support her weight. They were both exhausted, neither would last much longer against Ingrid, which was exactly how she had planned it.

_I am sorry dear, I should have let you stall longer, should have let our magic replenish more._

_It’s okay Regina, we will get through this, we always do._

Emma stepped back, still trying to catch her breath. Her hand remained on Regina’s arm, taking comfort in the contact, relieved that for now, they were both still okay.

Suddenly Ingrid was 20 yards from Regina, unleashing a volley of ice three times the amount of any previous volley. Emma shoved Regina back, out of the path on instinct, dropped her head and unleashed the shield again. Emma knew there were too many spikes and tried to move out of the way while still protecting Regina on the ground behind her.

Regina screamed her name in warning but by then it was too late. Ice slammed into her chest, tearing through her. Emma dropped to her knees puzzling over how ice could feel like a hot blade. Her hand covered the wound briefly and came away crimson red. The pain was overwhelming and her vision started to cloud. She felt Regina’s arms come around her, holding her gently off the ground. Emma tried to focus on Regina’s face, trying to tell her everything would be okay but the words wouldn’t come. She felt Regina’s tears hitting her face, heard Regina’s panicked cries. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Ingrid raise her hands and vanish in a plume of smoke as Emma’s eyes finally fluttered closed. She just wanted to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina tries to help Emma and an accidental SwanQueen moment ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now rated mature- yep, you knew it was going to happen eventually.   
> Warnings: descriptions of blood, and um, well, a moment between our favorite two ladies...  
> Let me know whatcha think.... I wrote this chapter about two weeks ago... been very excited to finally bring it into the story :)

Regina watched in horror as the Snow Queen fired several volley of bolts at her and Emma. Emma in her usual idiotic hero fashion dove in front of Regina, shoving her backwards. Regina fell, crying out. She heard several of the ice bolts slam past her, shattering next to her head. Regina sat up and cried out a warning to Emma just in time to see the last three bolts slam into Emma’s shield. The first two shattered when they made contact with her shield, but the third was one too many. Emma’s shield failed and she staggered backwards, a large Icy lance sticking out of her back just below her heart, tearing through the red leather of her jacket. Regina was filled with dread, knowing Emma would not last long. If the bolt didn’t kill her, the ice surely would if it reached her heart. Emma dropped to her knees, her hands covering her chest Regina rushed to Emma’s side, catching her as she fell back.

Emma’s eyes were open, staring at Regina in shock. She tried to form words but Regina cut her off.

“Be quiet you lovable idiot!” Regina gently held Emma in her arms, resting one hand over the ice bolt, trying to melt it. She shook Emma awake when Emma’s eyes rolled back in her head, crying Emma’s name. She tried melting the bolt again but she couldn’t get it to budge. She cried in frustration and anger. She could not lose her. not before she had told Emma how she really felt about her. this couldn’t be happening again.

Emma’s eyes cleared and she reached for Regina. Her hands covered Regina’s bloodstained fingers, and Emma whispered, “Try again.”

Regina glanced at her surprised, “ I can’t” Despair filled her. Emma’s fingers tightened around her own, forcing her to meet Emma’s gaze. _I believe in you_.

 Regina focused all of her energy on healing Emma, only to open her eyes and find that Emma was still losing blood, her skin growing paler by the minute… “I am not strong enough” tears formed in her eyes as she admitted defeat. She was going to lose another love. The same desperation and despair that filled her both times she lost Daniel filled her now. She was losing hope as fast as Emma was slipping away.

Emma reached up weakly and brushed the tears away, before returning her hands to Regina’s, linking their fingers together. Emma pulled their hands to her wound, pressing Regina’s palms on either side of the spike, Emma’s hands over hers.

“Stronger together.” Emma whispered as her hands tightened around Regina’s. _we can do this Regina._ The connection between them was weak, but definitely still there.

Suddenly Regina understood what Emma was trying to tell her. Her magic alone was not strong enough, but their magic just might be. Regina grasped at the sliver of hope Emma had given her and gave Emma what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

She bowed her head again and focused on Emma, letting her walls down, allowing herself to connect with Emma completely. Regina gasped the moment their magic connected. Hers flowed out, traveling through Emma, Emma’s magic flowing through Regina’s veins. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She had done magic with Emma before sure, but never like this. Their magic flowed between the two of them, forming a powerful closed circuit. The magic actually began to build in strength instead of dissipating as it had been all afternoon.

Regina focused on the feel of the magic, directing it to the source of Emma’s injury, closing her eyes, imagining the ice melting, magic flowing through Emma, warming her and healing her.

“Look” Emma whispered. Regina opened her eyes and stared in wonder at Emma’s chest. White gold magic spilled from their joined hands burning around the edges of the Ice bolt, healing torn flesh, and disintegrating the ice bolt within a minute. Regina maintained the contact with Emma’s hands, letting the magic continue to swirl through Emma, finding and healing any injuries that remained, feeling her wounds heal as well.

Usually such a task would take hours, intense concentration and would rapidly deplete Regina of her magic, the side effects leaving her vulnerable. But with Emma, healing only took moments, and the side effects were hardly noticeable. Regina felt stronger than she had in a long time, as she adjusted to the massive amounts of magic coursing powerfully through her veins. Without Emma, she would lose herself to it, but Emma grounded her, helping her focus and control it.

 It wasn’t lost on Regina that while Emma had little control over her own magic, she seemed to be able to help Regina control it for the both of them quite well. nor was it lost on Regina that when her magic mixed with Emma’s, it changed the color of the energy emitted, turning white gold, while smelling strongly of apples and cinnamon, a beautiful scent. It was as if they completely balanced each other, as if their magic was not intended to work separately, but always together, complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Separately, they both had chinks in their armor, but together, she felt invincible. Regina shook her head in wonder. _Was that even possible?_

Regina knew Emma was healed now, but she held onto her anyway, wanting to hang on to the powerful connection between them. The magic flowed faster now, no more healing necessary. It began to build in her, sending shivers down her spine and heat slid low into her stomach, then pooling lower.

“ Regina, what are you doing?” Emma’s emerald eyes darkened, her hands trembling slightly. Regina felt the heat streaking through her, sending shivers of pleasure through her entire body. The feeling was incredible, and powerful.  Regina didn’t realize what was happening between them until it was too late. Both women gasped and fell back, finally severing their contact. Regina’s name fell from Emma’s lips in a whimper, telling Regina that the same thing had happened to both of them. Regina had never experienced this before. This was new to her, and completely shocking. They had gone from healing each other to magically inducing a powerful orgasm.

They both lay on their backs staring at the sky, letting the lingering pleasure course through them. Regina closed her eyes desperately trying to regain control. _What the hell was that? How did that happen?_ She had never experienced a magical orgasm simply from holding hands before.

Emma avoided Regina’s gaze as she sat up, pulling her arms around herself, being careful that no part of her touched Regina.

Regina sat in silence, trying to regain control over her body and emotions. While she had known she had strong feelings for the blonde, she had no idea that she felt strongly enough to create that kind of magic without intending to. She shook her head, thoroughly embarrassed. She certainly wanted to bring Emma pleasure, but had planned that their first time would be very different than what just happened. She had imagined it being in the privacy of her own home, in her bed. Not here, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of a showdown with an Ice Queen.

Regina’s head snapped up, glancing around, trying to locate the woman who nearly killed Emma.

Emma read her mind, “She is gone. She poofed right after she hit me. damn coward.” Emma’s voice was surprisingly husky, still slightly trembling, sounding very unsure of herself, as if she didn’t trust the words coming out of her mouth.

Regina nodded thoughtfully, “not sure why she would run, she was winning. She could have easily disposed of us while I was distracted with trying to… heal you.” her cheeks flushed at the memory of what their magic had wound up doing after the healing.

“You call what just happened healing me? Regina, it may have started that way, but that is most definitely not what you just did to me.”

“What I did to you?” Regina retorted, “Correct me if I am wrong Sheriff Swan, but that went both ways. And I most definitely did not intend for that to happen.” Her tone was all wrong, defensive, snarky and harsh.

Emma’s eyes flitted away from Regina’s face, staring at her hands in her own lap instead.  “Oh, well, I am sorry, I didn’t intend for that to happen either.” Regina had caught the hurt in Emma’s eyes before she had turned away. She sounded dejected, disappointed.

Regina sighed reaching for Emma’s hands before thinking better of it. “Emma, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. All I intended to do was heal you. Then… I wasn’t ready to let go. I didn’t intend for that to happen, I rather hoped our first time would be somewhere more private and romantic.”

Emma’s eyes snapped up to hers, “ you… you wanted a first time?”

Regina shook her head and laughed, “Really Miss Swan, you can be so dense sometimes. Of course I wanted a first time with you. I still do, just preferably not in public, in the middle of a fight with an evil Ice Queen who just tried to kill you.” She placed her hand on Emma’s knee intending to reassure her. She pulled it away almost immediately her face turning red from embarrassment at the instant heat that simple touch sparked. The heat shot through her arms, leaving her tingling.

“Good lord.” She muttered. “We are going to have to be a lot more careful about how and when we touch if this keeps up.” Her eyes flitted to Emma’s face, catching the smirk before Emma could hide it.

Regina shook her head and laughed, “you look entirely too proud of yourself Miss Swan.”

Emma blushed deep red. She dusted off her hands and stood to her feet, immediately leaning against a tree for support, her face going pale again. Her legs shook ferociously under her weight, and Regina knew they would buckle soon. Clearly she wasn’t back to normal yet. Regina was at her side in an instant, ignoring the exhaustion in her own limbs. She held onto Emma, her hand resting under Emma’s elbow, supporting her. She ignored the way her skin tingled, willing it away. Emma needed help, not another round of whatever just happened.

“ I am fine Regina, we need to go find the Ice Queen before she kills Ana.”

Regina shook her head firmly, “you are not going anywhere other than home, to rest.” Emma started to protest but her words were lost in white gold tendrils of magic.

Regina laughed at the confused look on Emma’s face when she found herself in the Charming’s apartment. David and Snow rushed to their sides, their shock forgotten when they saw how unsteady Emma was on her feet.

Snow made a strangled noise of fear when she saw the massive hole in Emma’s jacket and the blood she was covered in. Henry lunged at his mothers but David caught him, holding him back, shielding him from spotting the blood his birth mother was covered in. he said something to the boy in a low voice and Henry nodded and headed for the kitchen. David blocked his view when Henry inevitably tried to peek around him. “Henry, now.” David’s voice was firm.

Snow was all over her daughter, whimpering at the blood. Regina gently pushed her back, “She is fine Snow, I, we healed her. She needs to rest though, it took a lot of magic to close the wounds.”

Regina didn’t realize until that moment just how exhausted she was as well. _Was that because of the fighting and then healing Emma or because of… the other thing?_

 Snow glanced at Regina and nodded, apparently deciding to take Regina’s word for it, “We need to get her cleaned up and in bed.” Snow glanced at David, “will you…?”

Regina gave a slight turn of the wrist and they were all in Emma’s room, Emma in fresh clothes and lying in bed.

“Hey!” Emma groused, “Not fair.”

Regina sat on the edge of the bed, trying to blink the spots creeping into her field of vision away. _That can’t be good._ She had seriously depleted her magic and her energy, and there was only one way to recharge. The only problem was, someone needed to go after the witch that nearly killed Emma.

The same witch that was trying to kill Ana. Regina’s head snapped to David, “did you…?”

David nodded, “yeah we found her, she is in the hospital, but she will be fine. Elsa, Belle and Gold are with her, so the Ice Queen will have a hard time getting to her.”

 Regina started to stand, intending to leave the room and let Emma rest. She wanted to discuss how to deal with the Ice Queen with the Charmings and consult Gold about Magic and True Love but Emma grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down, growling, “Oh no you don’t. If I have to stay here and rest, then you are going to stay right here with me.”

Snow and David laughed at Regina’s withering look. She ignored them, turning to face Emma. “Fine, I will stay.”

Emma gave a satisfied smirk, tugging Regina’s hand. She pulled back the covers and patted the bed beside her, giving Regina a pointed look.

“ Miss Swan, do you really expect me to crawl in bed with you and cuddle with your _charming parents_ watching?”

Emma laughed glancing at her blushing parents. David and Snow stared at the two women for a moment and backed out of the room without a word, closing the door behind them for the second time that day.

“How about now?” Emma asked. Regina nodded tiredly, too exhausted to argue further. She laid down with her back to the blonde, feeling the full extent of her exhaustion the moment her head hit the pillow.

Emma slid closer to Regina, throwing her arm around her, tugging Regina close. Regina found her rear firmly planted against Emma, Emma’s breasts pressing into her back. She felt warm heat slide through her and she started to pull away but Emma held her fast.

“ Emma, do you really think that is a good idea? Given what happened earlier?”

Emma released a throaty chuckle in her ear, causing more heat to slide through her.

“It’s fine Regina, just relax and go to sleep. Neither of us have the magical capacity for a repeat. Besides, I am waiting for that first time you promised, without magic.” Emma’s lips brushed the nape of Regina’s neck, her warm breath tickling her ear sending a rush of warmth low in Regina’s belly.

“Keep that up, and it will end up happening again.” her voice was husky and raw with need. Emma laughed, wrapping herself more tightly around Regina. “Go to sleep Regina.”

“hmkay, you sleep too” Regina drawled sleepily. Regina closed her eyes, reveling in the safety and warmth of Emma’s embrace. In moments, she had drifted off to a deep sleep.


	18. A New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina have another family breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for the love guys! you guys are the ones keeping this story going :)

Emma awoke slowly, feeling warm and safe, and definitely still sleepy. Something was tickling her face. She wrinkled her nose and tried to bat away the offending source, only to have a hand close over hers and hold fast. Her eyes opened and she found herself eye level with Regina’s chest. Emma was sprawled over Regina, arms tossed over her, holding her like a teddy bear. Regina was half sitting up, half still laying down. Emma tilted her head back and eyed Regina carefully.

Her breath caught in her throat at the expression on Regina’s face. The woman was staring at her with so much open affection that it made her shift under her gaze. Regina’s expression was intense, so intense that Emma could not hold her gaze for long. So instead, Emma buried her face in the crook of Regina’s neck, breathing in the scent that was uniquely Regina. The woman smelled incredible and she was completely wrapped in it.

Regina’s arms were wrapped loosely around Emma, holding her close, Regina’s fingers tracing gentle patterns over the flesh of Emma’s arm. Her other hand still held Emma’s in her lap. Emma found her current position very comfortable so she snuggled closer to the woman, reveling in Regina’s warm embrace. She felt safe, loved and cherished like she never had before. She didn’t want Regina to let go of her, ever.

“Can we stay like this forever?” Emma asked softly. She felt Regina’s throaty chuckle rumble through her chest, a decidedly pleasant sound.

“ I wish we could, but there is the matter of an Ice Queen we still need to deal with, and two women who are freezing as a result of that Queen.” Emma stubbornly snuggled closer, not willing to face the real world yet. The burden of being the savior, of being a hero was too much for her, although, having Regina to help did make the burden more bearable and less lonely.

Regina’s hands shifted her gently, before cupping her face and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Come on dear, we slept all night, it is time to get up and play hero now. Our magic should be restored but I have recharging potions waiting for us downstairs just in case.”

“ I don’t want to” Emma whined, fully aware that she was being selfish. Regina swatted her playfully until Emma squinted at her. She adopted her best pout, earning another chuckle and swat from Regina. Emma reluctantly released Regina and sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching with a grossly exaggerated yawn. Regina snorted in amusement before pulling her into a lingering kiss.

Emma’s eyes snapped open the moment Regina’s lips met hers. This was no normal kiss between the two of them. Regina had inserted a little magic that caused Emma’s heart to jump, and raw magic to course through her veins. Regina’s lips remained on hers until she was sure that the kiss had fulfilled it’s purpose. Emma was definitely awake now, and alert. She was also incredibly aroused. They climbed out of bed quietly, Emma trying to stamp down the intense attraction coursing through her veins.

Emma grabbed fresh clothes and headed for the shower, deciding that was what she needed to bring her body back under control. Regina had smirked at her before disappearing behind purple magic. She would return after a shower and a change of clothes herself.

When Emma headed downstairs half an hour later, her hair damp, but feeling refreshed and energized, Regina was already in the kitchen with the Charming’s, helping prepare breakfast. Regina handed Emma a hot cup of coffee, letting her fingers rest over Emma’s for a moment as the cup exchanged hands.

She winked at Emma, _there is a little pick me up in it_ , before returning to the stove to flip pancakes. Emma nodded, _thanks…_

Emma sat at the bar watching her family move around in the small kitchen. Emma had decided and everyone had agreed that it would be most helpful for her to just set the table as opposed to trying to cook. She finished her task and sat at the bar sipping the unusually good coffee Regina had given her, smiling at how perfect and right it was to watch her whole family, Regina and Henry included, move about, working as a team. It was odd, seeing Regina so at ease with a calm, domestic, mundane breakfast with the Charmings. She actually seemed to be enjoying herself.

Regina caught Emma staring and flashed her a warm smile and a wink, _you are staring dear_.

Emma blushed, _I cant help it, I love seeing our family like this, together, getting along,so… normal._

 _I am enjoying it too dear_ …

Emma caught the slightly puzzled expression on Regina’s face as she turned back to the eggs she was now cooking. Emma moved on instinct. She stood and crossed around the counter, slipping her arms around Regina from behind, pressing a kiss into the nape of Regina’s neck. It was brief but sweet, and then Emma released her.

 _I never thought I would see you doing domestic with the Charming's._ She grinned at the blush creeping up from Regina’s collar.

_Neither did I, but I would do just about anything for you and Henry, even if that means getting along with the Charming's._

Clearly they both needed time to get used to the shows of affection between them in front of an audience. It was startling how easy it was for them to go to each other and hold the other close. A quick glance around the room told Emma that no one was used to it yet. She had to keep reminding herself that this was all new. It had been coming for such a long time that when they finally gave into the feelings they had denied for so long, it seemed to be moving fast, as if they had always been this way.

They all sat down to breakfast together this morning, Regina sitting between Emma and Henry again. This morning’s discussion involved an update of what all had happened the day before.  Emma and Regina shared what happened before and during their showdown with the Ice Queen, and David shared what happened in town. He blushed and started stammering when Regina started fishing for details, and at first he wasn’t forthcoming. Once he finally revealed all of the events both Emma and Regina chuckled and shook their heads at Charming’s typical fly by the seat of his pants heroic antics.

When he shared that he had charged down to the shop without the truck Regina shot Emma a smirk, _so that’s where you get it from…_

Emma shook her head, feigning offense _, I would have thought to bring the truck, or at least poof there with you._

_You don’t know how to poof._

_Only because you haven’t taught me yet._

Regina nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging that Emma was right. Emma smirked at her, _seems like I skill I need to know…_

_I will be happy to teach you dear._

Emma grinned, “really?” her voice betrayed her excitement. She immediately blushed, realizing that she had just broadcast that she and Regina were having a silent conversation. Snow, David and Henry all stared at the two of them puzzled.

“Really, what?” Henry asked. Emma shook her head and ruffled Henry’s hair, “nothing kid, just thinking out loud.” No one believed her, but no one called her on it either.

 They cleared the breakfast table together, working around each other in the kitchen.

When they finished, Regina pulled Emma off to the side quietly. “ I was thinking…”

Emma quirked her brow mischievously, “that’s dangerous…” Regina smacked her playfully, her eyes dancing with laughter. It faded too quickly for Emma’s taste.

“ Emma, this is serious. We still have an Ice Queen to deal with and two women to save.” Emma nodded in agreement, her expression growing solemn at the thought of Marian still frozen, and Ana in the hospital recovering.

“ I was thinking about what you said yesterday, about us being stronger together. I haven’t been able to forget how I, how we…”  Regina gestured between them “… healed you. I have never been able to heal like that. Without your help, there was no way I could do it. we removed the ice from your veins, stopped it from reaching your heart. What if we could do the same for Marian?”

Emma nodded thoughtfully, processing Regina’s idea. It did seem plausible, like a real possibility. Robin hadn’t had any luck falling in love with his wife again and she imagined that was hard to do with his wife laying frozen on the couch. They just had to be careful that they didn’t end up repeating what had happened after the healing was finished. Emma voiced this quietly and Regina blushed crimson red, making Emma laugh.

Regina glared at her, unable to shake her embarrassment until Emma cupped her face and kissed her gently. Regina sighed, letting Emma pull her close, Emma’s arms leaving her face and wrapping around her neck. Emma felt Regina relax into the kiss, her hands coming to rest on Emma’s hips. Emma kissed her until Regina’s embarrassment was forgotten and then pulled away, not wanting another kind of heat to build between them, at least, not yet, not here.

Emma released Regina and stepped away, her eyes never leaving her face. Regina smiled softly at Emma, “do you want to give it a try Emma? We just have to be careful about making sure our magic stays focused on Marian.”

Emma nodded, “ let’s give it a shot.” Regina nodded and headed for the door. Emma caught up to her quickly, placing a hand on Regina’s arm.

“How about we poof there?” Emma asked, not able to resist the opportunity that presented itself. Regina caught Emma’s hopeful expression and smirked. After a moment she consented, pulling Emma into the middle of the apartment, ignoring the Charmings and Henry.

“Close your eyes, picture Robin’s home, the front yard. Focus on it. Do you have the image in your head?”

Emma closed her eyes, focusing on bringing the image to the forefront of her mind, shutting everything but that image and Regina’s voice out of her mind. Emma nodded, “got it.”

“Okay, keep that image in your mind, and when I say, raise your hands towards you quickly, and release your magic.” Emma nodded, slightly nervous.

She calmed the instant Regina’s hand found her left shoulder. “Right here with you. Whenever you are ready savior.”

Emma focused, trusting Regina. She felt her magic connect with the brunettes and relaxed at the familiar tug around her heart and Regina’s magic entwined around her own. Emma smiled and lifted her hands. Regina and Emma vanished in a white gold cloud, leaving an overpowering scent of Apples and Cinnamon.

If they had still been in the room, they would have seen Henry’s grin and heard him say, “Cool! It smells like Christmas in here.”


	19. Frozen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marian wants to give up, but an unlikely ally saves her and maybe even her family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning to write from Marian's POV, but was suddenly inspired tonight wondering how Marian would feel about her former enemy saving her. enjoy!

She had lost track of time a long time ago. She felt nothing but mind numbing cold. She couldn’t even feel scared anymore, that had ceased when she felt her heart ripped from her chest. It had hurt something fierce but then dulled. It left her feeling rather empty, almost distanced from herself. She could hear what was going on around her, but she couldn’t see anything and she couldn’t feel anything other than the ice in her veins.

She could hear Robin come and go from time to time, could hear him as he spoke to her in soft tones. She took comfort in his voice. More often than not he apologized to her. she was growing weary of his apologies. He apologized for not fighting for her, for not searching for her longer. He regretted being away from home all the time. He regretted that he hadn’t been there for her or Roland as he had promised. He apologized for falling in love with Regina, the woman who had taken everything for them. he apologized for not being able to wake her with true loves kiss.

He made promises too. Promises to make it right, to bring her back, to work for it, to save them. before Regina had removed her heart, her heart would clench in pain and sorrow every time he made promises or told her how sorry he was. she was actually strangely grateful to Regina for removing some of the emotional turmoil.

Regina puzzled her, the woman had seemed genuinely remorseful about their complicated past. She had seemed to genuinely care for Robin and Roland. Regina had seemed broken, weary, not at all like the Evil Queen who had relished in stealing everything from her. she recalled the way Regina had studied her during the encounter with the snow monster. Regina had clearly contemplated walking away, leaving them all to face the snow monster alone. But she had chosen otherwise, saving Marian’s life and then giving her an awkward smile and a welcome to their strange town in an eve n stranger world.

Now here she was, frozen to the core, the only thing keeping her alive was her heart, a heart Regina had taken from her chest and held in her hands. Marian couldn’t understand why Regina hadn’t used the opportunity to crush it, to remove the only obstacle to her happy ending with Robin.

Time held no value to her now. All she knew was this cold, this deep, aching cold that she was sure would linger in her bones forever. She could not move, she could not breathe. She wasn’t sure how she was alive. It was tortuous being stuck in this freezing limbo, not dead, but not living either. It was cruel. She wished Robin would just let her go, release her and let her die. He could have, should have. He didn’t love her anymore, Regina had replaced her as Roland’s mother, there was no reason for her to continue living.

Marian was giving up, she wanted to die. She wanted the cold to stop. She just wanted to rest, to finally be at peace.

Her mind cleared as she decided that she was going to die. Slowly, a warm feeling blanketed her. at first she thought it was finally the hypothermia settling in. if she wasn’t frozen, she would have smiled in relief. It was finally going to end.

That relief was overcome with confusion a moment later when instead of fading her senses were sharpening. She felt sharp tingling pain slide through her as dormant nerves awakened. Warm, dry heat crackled around her. She heard the ice that had become her prison crackling around her, immediately replaced by heat. The sharp pain forced a scream from her now thawed throat. Her limbs thrashed against her will, her mind having no control over her live nerves. She could now hear Robin and Roland talking to her, trying to soothe her as well as two other voices. One of them she recognized as Regina’s, trying to calm her.

“ shh, Marian, it will go away in a moment, we are almost done…” she felt hands latch onto her arms, holding her in place, while radiating healing warmth through her. Marian stilled as the healing magic coursed through her veins, calming frayed nerves, replacing the ice with lasting warmth, reaching past her veins, into her muscles, down to her bones. The pain faded, replaced by a peaceful and pleasant sensation.

“This is not going to pleasant Marian, but I have to do it. I will do my best to not hurt you anymore than necessary. Please don’t fight me.” Marian stilled against the hands holding her. Regina sounded soft, pleading. Not at all like the evil queen who only knew how to create fear and pain. Marian couldn’t help but trust this voice. She opened her eyes slowly, watching Regina position herself over her carefully. She saw her heart cradled in Regina’s heart, her touch light and soft.

“Ready?” Regina asked softly. Marian nodded and then gasped sharply as Regina’s hand plunged into her chest. Regina positioned Marian’s heart back where it was supposed to be and then pulled out of her as quickly as she had gone in. she stepped back and resumed holding hands with the blonde Marian could finally see. Both their eyes were closed, each of them with a hand planted firmly on Marian. She could feel their magic clearly now, coursing through her powerfully, pushing back the remaining pain and cold. She could now feel her limbs, and they responded to her will, moving for the first time in weeks. She felt the stiffness fade as the women maintained contact with her. she shivered as the last of the cold and pain faded. Their magic swirled through her, creating a sense of calm, and peace.

She felt their magic withdraw from her, and she wished they hadn’t. While their magic coursed through her it had bene easy to forget that she had been ready to give up, ready to die. Now she stared at them as they stepped back and her little family rushed forward. She felt overwhelming guilt crash over her as Roland jumped onto her, his curls crashing into her chest.  Robin stood by her side, taking her hands into his, his eyes full of guilt and remorse. She glanced away, unable to stand the expression on his face. He no longer loved her. He loved Regina.

Her eyes snapped back to the brunette who was talking quietly to the blonde with her. her eyes squinted, puzzled as to why the blonde was still holding Regina’s hands between them. she wondered why Regina was allowing herself to be held. Marian sat up slowly, her arms coming around Roland as she continued to watch the two women talk softly. She ignored whatever Robin was saying to her, more curious as to why Regina was looking at the blonde with pure love and adoration.

Regina must have felt Marian staring at her because she turned and faced Marian, the blonde still by her side, almost as if she was holding Regina up. As Regina came closer, she saw the circles under both of the womens eyes, exhaustion lining their faces. Saving her must have taken quite a toll on them both, she realized. She felt something like gratitude well up in her towards them. They had risked their lives for hers.

Regina glanced at Robin, asking him to give her a moment with Marian. Robin gave her a long, sad glance and gently pulled Roland from Marian’s arms. The blonde started to back away but Regina shook her head, “ Emma, please stay.”

Emma glanced at Marian, unsure and Marian nodded, “its fine. You saved my life.” She glanced between the two women and managed a small smile, “I owe you both my life. Thank you.”

Regina shook her head sadly, “I am so sorry Marian for everything. I know that words will never be enough, that I can never make it up to you, for taking everything from you, but I want you to know how truly sorry I am.”

Regina’s eyes were full of sorrow and genuine remorse. Marian couldn’t hate her anymore, not after this. “You already made it up to me Regina. You gave me my life back. You have changed. It’s obvious now, Emma was right, you have changed.”

Regina managed a small smile, stepping back and taking Emma’s hand, “I have changed, mainly because Emma, my family helped me to change. I want to be better.”

Marian nodded, “well in my book, we are even. What happened between us is in the past where it belongs.”

Regina nodded gratefully and backed away smiling. “Well, we are going to head to the hospital, there is another young woman that needs our help.”

Marian nodded and watched as the two women vanished behind white gold magic. She smelled apples and cinnamon as the remainder of the magic wafted towards her. Roland and Robin reentered the room, Roland resuming his previous position in her arms. Robin approached again, tentatively. She met his gaze for the first time and held it. she gave him what she hoped was a warm smile. He smiled back and took her hand, bringing it to his lips.

She spoke softly, “ what was Regina saying to you before she and Emma healed me?”

He saw grief return to his eyes as he glanced away, “ she told me that she is in love with Emma, that any chance she might have had with me died when she didn’t come into the bar that night. She apologized for causing me pain and told me that I am in love with an illusion of what could have been. She told me to forget her and move on with you and roland. She asked me to promise to try and fall back in love with you.”

Marian processed thins in silence. She knew that Regina was in fact in love with Emma but had seen for herself that she loved and cared deeply for Robin and roland as well. Regina had stepped back, choosing not to destroy her family, refusing to destroy another person’s happiness for her own. It was selfless. She was giving up her True love with Robin, knowing that she was giving up on something solid, something certain, for something with Emma that may not last. The woman she had known in the enchanted forest would have never done that.

“ she really has changed.” She confessed quietly. Robin nodded, unable to hide the sadness in his eyes, “ yes she has.”

She turned to her husband unable to be selfish in light of Regina’s sacrifice. “you don’t have to stay with me Robin. I won’t hold you to your vows, not when you lost me for so long. We are both different people now.”

He looked at her confused so she clarified, “you don’t have to stay married to me Robin, you can be free to fall in love with someone else. As long as I can still be a part of Roland’s life.  I still love you, but I know better than to think that you can still be happy with me. And that is all I want for you, to be happy.”

Robin dropped to her side, wrapping his arms around her. “I couldn’t leave you Marian. I never loved you like I should have. I won’t leave you now, I love you, and I will fall back into love with you. I promise, I will make this right!”

It was so much like the Robin she fell in love with that she choked on a sob and smiled. She shook her head in amazement. It seemed she owed this change in her husband to Regina as well. That woman was constantly surprising her. if Regina could change this much and create such change in Robin, she imagined she could change too.


	20. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma teleport around healing the two women the Ice Queen iced

They entered Robin’s house quietly, Emma hanging back as Regina pulled Robin off to the side, needing to bring closure to whatever was between them.

“Robin, we may have found a way to heal Marian.”

He smiled affectionately at her, “ I knew you would find a way Regina. Thank you” his statement caused her heart to clench. She still cared deeply for this man, that would never change, and a small part of her would always regret that she hadn’t chosen him over her pain all those years ago. But she also knew that if she had, she wouldn’t have the life she had now, her life with her precious son Henry, nor the chance at a family with Emma. Finding her resolve she shook her head slowly, “robin…”

“ so how do we save her Regina, how do we make this right? We can find a way to make this work.  I know we can…”

“ Robin,” Regina started gently, knowing she was about to break the gentle man’s heart, “ when I said _we_ found a way to save her, I was talking about me and Emma. On my own, my magic isn’t enough. But with Emma, when we join our magic together, it becomes so much stronger and more powerful. Emma and I healed her yesterday after she nearly died because the Ice Queen hit her like she hit Marian. I nearly lost Emma…” her voice chokes up on her, betraying the extent of her fear of losing Emma. Robin looks at her puzzled, not following what Regina was trying to say. She took a shaky breath and continued, “ it wasn’t until my magic joined with Emma’s that I was able to save her. we think we might be able to do the same for Marian.”

Robin shook his head confused, “okay, heal her then. And we will figure out the rest.”

“Robin, there is nothing to figure out. I realized it several days ago, and just haven’t found a way to tell you. I can’t be with you Robin. I lost that chance the night I ran from the tavern. I fled. Maybe if I had chosen differently that night, things would be different, but I didn’t. And now I have my son, and I have a family of my own and so do you. Robin you cant love me. you need to fall back in love with Marian. You chose her. just as I have chosen Emma.”

Robin’s voice cracked, “what do you mean you chose Emma?”

Regina hated hurting him but needed to be honest, “ oh Robin, don’t you get it? the reason my magic works with Emma’s? the reason we are so much stronger together? She is my true love Robin. I love her. she is the mother of my child. our magic is so strong and powerful because of our love for each other.”

Robin glanced away from her to the blonde standing awkwardly in the entryway, trying to give them the privacy they need, “ you are in love with Emma? When did this happen?”

Regina laughed softly, “I am not completely sure when it happened or how, but yes Robin, I love her and I choose her. please understand, I don’t want to hurt you. I still care about you, more than you will ever know, but my future, my happiness lies with my son and his mother, just as yours lies with Roland and his mother. I need you to see that. Marian needs you to see that. Marian is your happy ending. Don’t lose it chasing the illusion of what could have been. Please, you deserve better than that and so does your family.”

Robin stepped away from Regina, overwhelming sadness in his eyes, “ I understand…” he paused, glancing from Emma to Regina and then to his wife still laying on the couch in the den, frozen.

“ you can save her?” he asked softly.

“ we think so. Do you still have her heart?”

Robin nodded and found the will to move his feet. He retrieved the box and held it as Regina motioned Emma forward. Emma gave Robin an apologetic smile and took Regina’s hands giving them a light squeeze. _Are you okay?_

 _I will be… I am now._ Regina gave Emma a soft smile before turning her attention to the task at hand. Emma and Regina made short work of healing Marian, Regina staying long enough to apologize to Marian, as she had intended to do that night at granny’s. this time, Marian heard her apology and forgave Regina. Regina felt her heart warm and melt, a little of the heavy burden she carried lightened knowing that she was released from blame now. Emma gave her a soft smile, _see, you can be redeemed._

Regina gave Emma’s hands a soft squeeze. _It appears so…_

“Ready to go heal Ana?” Emma asked softly. Regina barely nodded before Emma had teleported them to Ana’s room in the hospital. Nurse Flora jumped and squealed loudly, dropping the tray she was carrying. Elsa jumped to her feet ice flurries in her hand before she realized it was just Emma and Regina. She grinned and the Ice vanished from her hands. Ana looked startled, having been awoken by Nurse Flora’s racket. Nurse Flora cleaned up the mess and hurried out of the room to retrieve another lunch tray for the princess. She left the room muttering under her breath about people trying to kill her.

Regina glanced at Emma surprised, _how did you do that? We didn’t know which room she was in…_

Emma shook her head, _no idea. I was aiming for ICU. I never expected it to be this specific._

Elsa calmed her sister and introduced the two women in front of her.

“This is Emma, she is the town sheriff, and this is Regina, she was the town mayor. They are helping me try to defeat the Ice Queen. She claims she wants us all to be family but I don’t trust her. neither do these two…”

Ana nodded at Emma and Regina, smiling when she saw that they were holding hands, “ it’s a pleasure to meet you both. My sister has told me so much about you both, though she failed to mention that you two were courting each other. I have to say, you two are an adorable couple and from what Elsa tells, me, very powerful with your magic. How does that work with true love, does it intensify your magic or…”

“Ana.” Elsa sounded exasperated. She was blushing furiously and trying to avoid glancing at the two women chuckling behind her.

 _Wow, a talkative one isn’t she?_ Emma grinned at Regina.

_And observant. Apparently Elsa didn’t realize we were together…_

Emma laughed out loud. “Why would she, we just realized we were together ourselves…”

Both Ana and Elsa shot glances at each other and then the two women.

_Dear, you did it again…._

Ana grinned widely, “You guys can communicate silently? That is so incredible! I wish I could do that with Elsa or with Kristoff… but I guess you both have to have magic for that to work huh? Elsa is the only one lucky enough to have magic, I am just normal…”

Elsa cut off her sister again, “ I would hardly say I am lucky to have magic sister, it has brought me nothing but trouble and pain. It seems being normal is the gift, not having magic that causes everyone to fear you.”

Emma nodded in agreement, remembering the sideways glances she got from the townspeople. “ people fear what they don’t understand, and most don’t know the first thing about magic. “ Emma glanced at Regina before continuing, “but having magic is a gift, Elsa. It makes us unique and special. When we know how to control it, we can help people in ways we never could otherwise.”

Regina cut in gently“ and that brings us to why we are here. Ana, we are here to offer any assistance we can with healing you. how are you feeling?”

“I feel much better really, I was so cold for so long…” she shuddered involuntarily, “ I still feel cold I guess, like there is still ice in me. I cant shake it. the dr. says that I am lucky I didn’t suffer from hypothermia or frostbite and that physically I am fine… he says my body temperature is normal, but I am still so cold…”

Regina stepped forward, “may I?” she nodded to Ana’s hand. Ana nodded and Regina picked up her hand. Regina could instantly sense the lingering magic leftover from the Ice Queens curse on her. The potions Gold had created had woken her up and freed her from the icy prison but Ana was right, she wasn’t whole yet, nor was she truly free from the cold that had settled over her bones. Regina turned to Emma and Emma was instantly by her side, joining hands with Regina, her free hand resting on Ana’s leg.

Regina closed her eyes and connected with Emma again. it grew easier every time to find the savior’s magic and let it connect with her own. She didn’t even need to search for Emma anymore. Emma’s magic was already there, in Regina, flowing through her lightly, waiting to be accessed. They really needed to research this. Magic had never come so easily for Regina as it did with Emma.

She shook the thought and focused their magic on their patient. She directed the flow out of their hands, connecting with Ana, telling their magic to find the cold lingering in her and dispel it. after a moment Ana sighed contentedly, her body finally warming under their touch. Regina could feel Elsa watching from the other side of the bed, worrying over her sister.

Regina and Emma continued their gentle contact with Ana until they detected no more of the Ice Queens magic in her system. They sent one last wave of healing warmth to be sure and severed contact.

They became aware of the room again slowly, their magic feeling tested. Emma glanced at Regina and smiled tiredly, _I could do with another nap._

_Me too dear, me too._

Ana grinned at the two of them, her voice full of gratitude, “Thank you so much. I feel better now, normal. I am not freezing anymore…”

Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes as Ana babbled on. She wanted to go home and rest, having spent the majority of her magic. She felt Emma take her hand and felt raw magic coursing through her, revitalizing her, pushing back the fatigue. She smiled. Emma had learned a remarkable amount of control over her magic. She felt Emma’s magic respond to her will, giving Regina energy again. she started to feel heat tingling her but Emma pulled away at the first hint of her magic straying to do something else other than energize her. She actually felt disappointed as Emma’s magic withdrew, even though she knew as well as Emma did that this was neither the time or place. Emma was blushing. _Sorry, I got distracted…_

Regina bit back her laughter. _It’s okay dear, you caught it before it went too far._

She noticed the sudden silence in the room and turned to catch both Ana and Elsa grinning at the two of them.

“so… what just happened there? Something definitely happened.”

“ Ana,” Elsa admonished. She turned to the two women smiling, “ I apologize for my sister, she had no filter, never has.”

“It’s true, I just blurt out the first thing that drops in my head, never really thinking before I say anything, Elsa tells me all the time that I need to watch…”

_Can we PLEASE get out of here now my dear? I know we  just healed her, but if she keeps this up, I may just give her a sleeping curse to get her to shut up._

Emma laughed and took her hands. _Gladly. Cant have you cursing someone you just saved._

They disappeared for the third time that day, leaving Ana and Elsa laughing at their hasty retreat.


	21. True Love's Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma share a special moment

Emma blinked deliberately, several times, confused. She had assumed they were headed back to the Charming’s apartment, but they were standing in Regina’s Manor. Regina had already disengaged her hand from Emma’s and briskly headed for the den without checking to see if Emma would follow. Emma sensed the fatigue in Regina. They both had used a rather alarming amount of magic in the last few days, leaving them both weary. Regina’s usually squared shoulders were slumped forward, her usually commanding presence muted. Emma was concerned.

Regina snapped her fingers and the fireplace sputtered to life, spitting sparks before finally lighting. Emma shook her head, clearly Regina’s reserves were spent. Regina’s fires never sputtered to life, they always roared.

Regina went to the small table containing her stash of cider and poured two glasses. She silently handed one to Emma and went to the couch. Regina set the cider down and literally flopped onto the couch with a sigh. If Emma wasn’t worried, she would have laughed. Regina lay back against the couch heavily, indicating that Emma should join her. Emma smiled gently and sat next to Regina, placing her cider on a coaster. Without warning, Regina flopped over, dropping her head into Emma’s lap like a stone, burying her face in the fabric covering Emma’s stomach. Emma laughed in surprise, earning a weak glare from Regina. Emma grinned at Regina gently running her fingers through Regina’s hair. Regina hummed in appreciation, snuggling closer and letting her eyes flutter closed with a contented sigh.

Emma sat in that position, her fingers buried in Regina’s hair, gently caressing her for a long while, not sure if she should feel honored or deeply concerned that Regina was okay with being this vulnerable. Regina never showed fatigue, she had always casually brushed aside Emma’s concern, never showing any signs of weakness. The Regina she knew was a rock, solid, never faltering. This Regina was not weak, but clearly exhausted and vulnerable. Emma felt a strong urge to protect the woman snuggled against her. Emma leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes, letting her tired muscles relax. She felt Regina respond by snuggling even closer, her hot breath blowing gently against Emma’s stomach.

“ I love you Emma.” Regina’s voice floated up to Emma, snapping her back to the moment, wide awake. Her fingers froze in Regina’s hair and she felt the woman tense. Emma forced herself to relax. She knew Regina loved her, and she knew she loved Regina. But hearing the words come out of Regina’s mouth so softly, with such tender sincerity surprised her.

Regina sat up apologizing, “ I am sorry Emma, that was probably too soon. I just…”

“Hey, stop it. Okay?” Emma cupped Regina’s face between her palms, forcing dark brown eyes to look directly at her. Regina’s face was full of emotion and insecurity. Acting on instinct, Emma leaned in and kissed Regina gently, gathering the courage to tell her how she felt. Emma pulled back after a moment, taking Regina’s hands and giving them a squeeze. “ I love you too” she whispered, her heart welling with emotion for the woman in front of her.

Regina laughed in relief, brushing away the tears that threatened to spill over. She tossed her hair and glanced at Emma, her expression full of raw emotion. Emma’s heart stopped. There it was again, that look she had only seen a handful of times on Regina. A look of pure, unfiltered love and adoration. Regina looked stunning, her openness and vulnerability giving her a glow that Emma found addicting. This was the woman she loved, and she was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. And she wanted her to see herself the way Emma saw her in this moment.

“There it is,” she said softly.

Regina glanced at her surprised,” there what is?”

Emma struggled for words, “it’s this look you get sometimes, it doesn’t happen often. But every once in a while… you look at Henry, or you look at me with this expression, and I just… I lose myself in it. You are beautiful, and when you look at Henry, or look at me like that, all your beauty comes to the surface and it is just… magnificent…” Emma felt foolish, stumbling over how to describe how Regina made her feel when she looked at her like that.

Regina just stared at her stunned for a moment, and Emma stumbled for words again, “ I am sorry, I just don’t know how to describe it… I wish I could tell you what that look does to me but I don’t even know how to put it in words.”

Regina’s shoulders stared to shake as tears slipped down her cheeks. _Damn it, I am an idiot_ … “ Regina, don’t cry, I am sorry…”

Regina laughed, “ Emma, you do put your foot in your mouth a lot, and you usually make a mess of everything you try to say… but the way you just made me feel… you made me feel that, beautiful… you sounded like a poet…”

Emma scoffed, “hardly…”

“Stop it Emma, stop selling yourself short. What you just said to me meant the world to me.” Regina pulled Emma close and kissed her, her hot tears mingling between them. Regina’s lips moved over hers gently, coaxing Emma to relax into the kiss. Emma responded in kind, moving closer, pulling Regina onto her lap, much the way she had during their first kiss. Regina went willingly, her hands circling around Emma’s neck, fingers tugging through Emma’s hair, teasing a moan from Emma’s throat. She felt Regina grin against her lips before kissing her again.

Emma gasped as she felt magic release between her and Regina, not unlike how magic had released when she kissed Henry, breaking the curse over three years ago. Memories suddenly flashed through her mind, memories of Ingrid as Sarah Fisher, foster mom.

Regina pulled back immediately, cupping Emma’s face between her palms, concern filling her soft brown eyes. “What just happened Emma?”

“ I … I remember… everything.” Memories continued to wash over her like a tidal wave, and she would have drowned in them if it wasn’t for Regina, holding her in place, grounding her. Regina crawled out of Emma’s lap and instead pulled Emma against her tightly, Emma’s head resting against her shoulder. She seemed to sense that Emma was unable to speak, unable to put into words what had just happened.

Emma saw flashed of Ingrid… Sarah dropping her off and picking her up from school, Sarah helping Emma with her homework, Sarah at the school art exhibit, bragging on Emma to whoever would listen. Sarah tucking her in at night, Sarah promising Emma that they would be a family,that she would never give Emma up, but would always care for her. Sarah promising Emma that she would fight for her as Emma was dragged from her home after six months. Emma had run away not long after.

She also remembered spotting her former foster mom in the Ice cream shop and storming in there, angry.

_Sarah hadn’t looked surprised to see Emma, she looked pleased, yet concerned, “Emma… you found me.”_

_“ what are you doing here? Did you follow me here?”_

_Sarah had reached out to placate Emma but Emma had swatted her hand away, snarling, “ Don’t touch me… answer the question.”_

_Sarah nodded, “ yes, I followed you here, to keep my promise. I fought for you, I tried everything I could think of to bring you back home with me. but then you went to juvie, and then prison, and you were an adult and I had lost any legal right to you. I lost track of you for a while, and I found you again recently. I never stopped trying Emma. I made a promise and I meant it. I want us to be family…”_

_“ I don’t believe you. you let them take me, and now you show up all these years later, I wish I never met you, I wish I could forget you altogether. You let me have hope and then you took it from me. stay away from me, stay out of my life, you hear me?” Emma was practically screaming at her former foster mom. Sarah had nodded sadly as Emma stalked out of the Ice cream parlor, “ as you wish…”  and Emma’s memories of Sarah Fisher vanished._

Emma was shaking in Regina’s arms overwhelmed by the new knowledge she had concerning the Ice Queen. Regina said nothing, content to simply hold Emma until she was ready to speak.

“We misjudged her.” Emma stated softly, “she really did want us to be a family. Everything she told me, everything she said was true. She did want me, she didn’t want to give me up.”

Regina pulled Emma tighter against her, her fingers gently rubbing circles on Emma’s arm. Emma leaned closer, her cheek resting on Regina’s shoulder, her breath creating goose bumps on the soft skin of Regina’s neck.

Regina simply nodded, letting Emma talk, “ she took my memories because I told her I wanted to forget her…I was so cruel to her that day in the shop…”

“Emma, knowing this doesn’t change the fact that she is trying to take our magic… she still needs to be stopped.”

“ yeah, I know. but now we know why she is doing it, and maybe, we can try to convince her there is another way…”

Emma’s cellphone rang, interrupting the soft conversation. She sighed heavily and pulled out of Regina’s arms, going to her jacket in the foyer and digging the cell phone out.

“hey David, what’s going on?” Regina appeared by her side, her expression curious.

“ Emma, where are you at? Elsa just came flying in here, she says she can remember her previous meetings with Ingrid. She says she knows what she is planning.”

“ wait, Elsa remembers?”

David paused before continuing carefully. “ yeah, a few minutes before she came barging in, Snow, Henry and I felt light magic pass by, like the kind of light magic released by True Love’s kiss… and then the next thing we know, Elsa comes barging in with Ana, and they both are going on about what Ingrid is planning… say, do you remember too?”

Emma blushed furiously and Regina chuckled softly. Emma gave her a pointed look, _I am not the only one who suddenly remembers everything…._

Regina cocked her head, puzzled, _but how?_

_True Love’s Kiss Regina. David said they all felt magic, magic that is identical to the kind released by True Love’s Kiss._

This time, Regina blushed as Emma answered David, “ yeah, I remember too. Its kind of a long story. I…Regina and I will be over in a few moments.” Emma could hear the gears click into place in David’s mind, “ True Love’s kiss… you and Regina?” he asked, almost embarrassed.

“ I will explain when we get there Da… David. See you in a few.” Emma ended the call and glanced at Regina who was smirking, her eyes dancing with mischief.

“What?” Emma asked, trying to be annoyed.

Regina grinned and grabbed Emma, dragging her into another kiss, this one far more passionate than any they had shared before. Emma gasped in surprise before relenting, allowing Regina to tug her closer. She found her back against the front door, Regina pressed against her tightly. Heat sparked between them, causing them both to shiver with pleasure. Emma tried to pull away, not wanting to ruin the moment with accidental magic but Regina refused to budge. Emma moaned when Regina’s tongue danced over her lips, teasing them apart.

_Regina, we cant do this right now…_

Regina ignored her, her hands finding Emma’s, linking her fingers with Emma’s before pressing her hands against the door as well. Emma felt their magic connect and start to build, creating heat that flared between them. _I thought you wanted to do this without magic Regina… you are not playing fair._

Regina’s pace slowed, her kiss softening, the magic losing its hot intensity. Regina pulled back slowly, still grinning like a chesire cat. Emma laughed and Regina joined her, giving a throaty chuckle. Regina leaned forward and pressed her lips against Emma’s again before stepping back, letting Emma step away from the door. Emma’s legs were like jelly, Regina’s kiss had left her breathless and weak in the knees.

“ what was that for?” Emma asked, licking her lips, still tasting Regina.

“ True Love’s kiss… I counted six times? Maybe seven?” Regina looked entirely too proud of herself as Emma stared at her in disbelief… “seven times?!”

Regina nodded. “but there weren’t any curses to break… why would the magic release that many times?”

Regina paused, considering Emma’s words. She shook her head, not grinning anymore, now puzzled, “ I don’t know…”

Emma ran her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten the mess Regina had made of her. “ this is getting out of control. Our magic, us, we have no idea what we are doing. We don’t understand how any of this works… have you ever heard of True Love between two people with magic? Is it always this… intense?”

Regina shook her head,  “ I honestly don’t know. I never heard of anything growing up, nor in my training with Rumpelstiltskin. He might know though…”

Emma nodded, “ you should go talk to him, find out what he knows. Meet me at the Charming’s when you are done… I am going to head over there and find out what Elsa and Ana know about the Snow Queen’s plan. Maybe if you learn something, about our magic, about how True Love affects us, maybe we can figure out how to beat Ingrid. We are stronger together, I just get the sense that we don’t know how strong yet…”

Emma met Regina’s gaze to find that expression on her face again, _Regina, you are killing me with that look…_

 _I can’t help it dear, I never thought I would have this again, after Daniel…_ Regina continued out loud, her voice soft and raw with emotion, “I love you so much Emma, I hope you know that.”

“ I do know that, and I love you too.” Emma stepped forward and kissed Regina again, pulling her into her arms, holding her close. She pulled back after a moment and simply held Regina in her arms, giving her a warm, lingering hug before stepping away. “meet me at the Charming’s.”

Regina nodded and Emma vanished in a cloud of white smoke, leaving the room smelling of cinnamon and vanilla.


	22. It's Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina tries to get answers from Gold

Regina let the door fall shut behind her, the bell chiming, announcing her arrival. A moment later, Gold shuffled out of the back room, smirking, “ I wondered when you would be by dearie. I knew after 7 rounds of light magic sweeping through this town that something was up…”

Regina blushed and then covered her embarrassment with a glare. She was here for answers, not to play games with the imp.

 _Play nice Regina…_ Regina froze as Emma’s voice washed over her, soothing her nerves.

  _How are you doing that? You aren’t even here!_

She could feel Emma’s smirk and almost see her shrug _, I don’t know, just felt you getting flustered and defensive. Relax, this is going to be uncomfortable for both of us, but there is nothing to be ashamed of…_

Regina returned her attention to Gold who stood assessing her in silence.

“ you knew I would come here.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“of course I did  dearie. It was only a matter of time before you realized you are out of your depth, and after the recent display, I figured it would be sooner rather than later.” He eyed her carefully, “ so, you want to know about magic, more specifically, magic between two people who happen to be True Loves as well.”

His arrogant tone grated on her nerves but she remembered Emma’s warning. She squared her shoulders, “ what do you know about the subject?”

Gold deflated, “ not much I am afraid. There is very little information on the subject, as I am sure you are aware. We have no information on how True Love is affected when it is between two people possessing magic, especially not between two people who possess powerful magic, such as yourself and Miss Swan…” His admission rolled off his  tongue casually.

“ so you know about my… relationship with Miss Swan?”

“ your love for her? of course Dearie, everyone does. It has been obvious to everyone but the two of you for some time now… rather ironic isn’t it. you end up falling in love with the woman destined to destroy your happy ending…”

She shook her head, “ Emma would never destroy my happy ending, she gave me one…”

“not what I meant dearie, besides, we are off topic… where was I? oh yes, True Love is the most powerful magic in existence, we have already seen what True Love can do all on it’s own. Look at the Charming’s for example…”

Rumple glanced at Regina, hoping for a flicker of emotion, irritation perhaps that he chose her former enemies as an example but she didn’t rise to the bait. He continued, “ the stronger their relationship became, the closer they became and the more they loved each other, the stronger their love became, overcoming everything, even the loss of David’s heart. That was simply True Love on it’s own. There is no telling what will happen with you and Miss Swan… but I think it is safe to say it will be even stronger than that of the Charmings, far more potent.”

“ so you believe what Emma and I have is True Love?”

“ do you really have to ask Dearie? Look at what you did today… you gave Emma back her memories, as well as Ana and Elsa, and you released pure light magic six more times after that… the more you two grow closer and acknowledge your feelings for each other, the more potent true love becomes between you. it appears to be joining your magic together, binding you two together as one. It seems to be making you both incredibly powerful magic wielders, giving Emma a semblance of control over her magic while giving yours a significant boost. I think we can expect that to continue.”

Regina processed this in silence. They really didn’t know what would happen as a result of their relationship. All they could reasonably expect is that they would continue to grow stronger and more powerful together. It certainly seemed that their connection was stronger and each moment they had seemed to trigger a deeper connection. She knew now that their first kiss had established the connection, giving them the ability to communicate silently, Regina to move to Emma’s side without trying. It also linked their magic in a way that had never occurred before, creating the heat that had caused their joint orgasm.

Then, earlier that day, after finally confessing that they loved each other, they had given each other True Love’s kiss, releasing the magic along with it, then repeating it with their intense kiss. Everyone in the town was aware that pure light magic had swept through seven times, and Regina blushed. This would certainly complicate things if this kept up. The whole town would know when they kissed or did anything else, god forbid if they didn’t learn how to not release magic every time they were near each other…

Gold watched Regina process this knowledge with amusement. He clearly knew more than he was willing to share, as usual. Regina glared at him, “ there is more, isn’t there?”

“Just that I think you should expect your magic to continue to grow stronger together. You are linked together now, using magic without her will feel different, off somehow.  You are each other’s greatest strength now, when you work together. But separately, you are also each other’s greatest weakness. You have to guard each other, protect each other. You must work together always now, it wont work any other way… that is the only way you will defeat the Ice queen and save the town Regina. You have to work together with Emma. You have to let your walls down completely, and trust her with everything you are, otherwise, it won’t work and the Ice queen will take your power from both of you. don’t let her control either of you. if she gets one, she had you both now.”

Regina nodded, thanking Gold for the warning. She would have to be very careful now, always aware of her magic around Emma. She needed to learn to trust, and be willing to let Emma know her completely. The thought was terrifying, but she knew Gold was right, the only way they could defeat the Ice queen was together.

Regina was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she forgot  for a moment that Gold never gave out information, or anything for that matter, for free. Yet he hadn’t even attempted to make a deal.

Her eyes snapped up to his, “ you didn’t make a deal, and last time I checked, you never give anything away for free…”

“right you are, dearie. My price is your protecting this town, and protecting me. I don’t need to make a deal with you, you want the same thing I do, and anything I do to help you helps me.”

She stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if she believed him.

_He’s lying Regina… don’t trust him. There is far more going on here than we know._

Regina was again startled by Emma’s voice in her mind. She actually turned around searching for Emma, almost expecting to find Emma by her side, but she was alone in the shop with Gold.

_How are you doing that?! It’s not fair, you being able to get in my head like this._

_I dunno. Hurry up and get here though, I could use some back up._

Regina felt a strange sensation wash over and glanced down alarmed. White- gold magic swirled up around her and she felt her world shift.

When the smoke cleared, she found herself standing in the charming’s apartment, Emma’s hand in hers. Snow, David, Elsa, Ana and Henry all sat on the couch in front of them, both stunned and impressed at Regina’s sudden appearance.

“What the hell Emma?! I wasn’t done talking to Gold!” Regina was more surprised than angry but Emma didn’t know that. She glanced over at Regina, seemingly just as surprised as Regina was. but she also seemed amused by Regina’s display of anger, along with her cursing, “ Language! Madam Mayor…”

Henry snickered as Emma mimicked Regina’s tone and facial expressions when she repeated Regina’s words back to her. Regina shot Henry a look and he shut up and stared at his feet sheepishly, but she could still see the impish grin all over his face. She huffed in impatience and returned her gaze to Emma.

“ Emma… this is not funny…”

Emma apologized, her expression confused, “ I don’t know how that happened, all I did was tell you to hurry up and get here… I didn’t mean right this second…” she glanced at Regina, “ I could… send you back…”

“No… don’t…” but it was too late. Regina now stood in the exact same spot she had been in Gold’s shop before Emma had brought her to the Charming’s.

Gold glanced up surprised and amused.

“Really Dearie?”

Regina shook her head and muttered, “ Really.”

She met Gold’s gaze and grew serious again, “now, where were we? why are you afraid of the Ice Queen? Why do you need protection from her?”

“That really is none of your concern Dearie.”

“Neither is your safety, but here we are…”

Gold sighed, “You just need to know that she is dangerous. She wants to possess power. She thinks it will help her protect the twisted little family she wants to create, to replace the family she lost and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. All she wants is Emma and Elsa. She doesn’t want us as a part of that family, she wants to strip us of our power, to take that magic for herself. When she discovers the connection between you and Miss Swan, she will do everything in her power to stop it, to separate you two. You must both gain control over your magic, over this connection you share before she gets ahold of it and uses it to take everything from you.”

Regina shook her head, “ I don’t know how… every time we think we have our new abilities mastered, have everything under control, something else pops up and everything is even more intense and even more out of control…”

“What triggers the new abilities?”

Regina thought back over the course of the last few days, tracking the progress Regina and Emma had made and how their magic had been affected. Their first kiss, Regina sensing that Emma was in trouble and teleporting to her even though she didn’t know where Emma was, creating the telepathic link, Regina suddenly appearing by Emma’s side, seemingly without magic. Every time they made progress in their relationship, it seemed to reflect in the connection between them.

She could feel Gold’s smirk as the answer dawned on her, “our connection grows with our relationship…”

“so in order to gain control over your joint magic, you must continue to make progress in your relationship.”

Regina sighed, “just great, that’s just what we needed, more pressure. Why can’t we just let our relationship develop over time like everyone else? Why must everyone add all these pressures and practically force us together.”

Gold shook his head and laughed, “ if you and Miss Swan did things on your own time without help or pressure, you both would still be in denial about your feelings for each other. The only way you two were ever going to make any progress before we all turn  old and grey was if something or someone forced you two to  deal with your feelings.”

Regina wanted to argue with him but she knew he was right. She never would have dealt with her feelings for Emma if circumstances had not made it unavoidable. She would have whole heartedly thrown herself into a relationship with Robin if Marian hadn’t returned and now she realized she would have been missing out.

Emma bringing Marian back had forced the issue, bringing their feelings for each other to the surface.

Regina didn’t argue with Gold. She simply stared at him, “ is there anything else you can tell me?”

“just to be careful. You both are going to have a lot of excess magic, and if you are not constantly aware, you could end up releasing a lot more than true love’s kiss.”

Regina blushed as she recalled just what she and Emma were capable of releasing when they weren’t focused…

 _Ready to come back over yet?_ Emma’s voice resounded in her mind as white tendrils of magic swirled low at her feet. Regina glanced down, fascinated.

Gold followed her gaze and laughed, “ you two are something, far more than I ever expected…”

_Get me out of here Emma…_

Magic engulfed her again but this time she was ready. She once again found herself in the Charming’s apartment, her hand in Emma’s. she threaded their fingers together and took a deep breath.

_Did he tell you anything useful?_

_Just what we already know… we are each other’s greatest strength and weakness, and as we grow together, our magic will grow…_

Emma nodded just slightly. Regina squeezed her hand and turned to Elsa, “alright, you guys wanna bring me up to speed?”


	23. Making Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma come up with a plan to defeat the Snow Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> switches perspectives halfway through...

Emma stood beside Regina, taking comfort in her closeness as Elsa filled her in on her own complicated history with the Ice Queen. Elsa shared Ingrid’s attempts to come between her and Ana. She shared how they had tried to trap her in the magical urn  but Elsa had been caught in it instead, and Ana was taken prisoner, held hostage to be used as bait to get Elsa back when she was released. Neither of the sisters knew how Gold came to be in possession of the urn, and Regina no doubt regretted not asking Gold while she was in his shop.

Emma let out a frustrated sigh, they still had no idea how to defeat the Ice Queen. They knew she wanted their magic under her control, they knew she wanted to destroy Gold, and they knew she wanted to replace her sisters who she felt had betrayed her. She wanted Elsa and Emma to become her little family. But they had no idea how to stop her. The Ice Queen clearly had powerful magic.

It occurred to Emma then that there was a flaw in their assumption that Ingrid wanted to take their magic. If she took that from them, they would no longer have the one thing that had drawn her to them in the first place. They were different because of their magic, their families often reacted in fear, because of their magic. She didn’t want to take their magic, she wanted to harness it, harness their emotions, their fear, their sadness, their loneliness and use it to bring them under her control. 

Regina cut into her thoughts, _I think you are onto something there dear._

_How…. Never mind, our connection, it never ceases to surprise me. I wasn’t aware I was sharing that information._

Regina gave Emma a warm smile and a light squeeze of her hand. Elsa and Ana had finished sharing their experiences with the Ice Queen in Arendale.

Regina nodded, clearly processing everything she had been told. Emma couldn’t fathom how Regina could listen to Elsa, Ana and Emma and process and understand it all after only hearing it once. Regina shook her head, smirking at Emma _, I was a queen Dear, remember? You learn to multitask._ Regina turned her attention to the others in the room, “So how do we stop her?”

Snow spoke up, “I was thinking about that urn that they tried to use on her before. Elsa wound up trapped in it, what if we could find a way to replicate that spell, find something that could contain her and her magic so we could try to reason with her?”

Regina glanced at Snow surprised, “wait, Snow White is actually suggesting that we use magic?”

Snow blushed and Emma laughed, “ well, Yes Regina. You and Emma are clearly becoming stronger and stronger by the minute. Surely between your joint magic, Gold, and Elsa, we can come up with some sort of solution that doesn’t involve killing her or shoving her into a tiny urn. Maybe we could cast a spell on the cell at the sheriff’s station to contain her.”

Regina scoffed, “and how do you propose that we get her to the cell? She won’t go in there voluntarily…”

David chimed in stepping between Regina and Snow protectively, “okay, so we need to flesh the plan out a bit, maybe have something to contain her until we get her to the cell, but the cell idea IS a good one.”

Emma glanced at Regina, an idea building in her mind, “We could transport her there Regina… bait her into meeting us again, let her think she has our ear, we go to her, proposing a truce, I pretend that I want to reconcile with her, we get close, and we transport her to the waiting cell.”

Regina shook her head“ there’s two problems with that, one, we don’t know if we can transport a third party back and forth, second, she will sense it before we do it. Magic users have this ability to sense someone preparing to release magic. If she has been trained on how to use it, she will know what we are going to do before we do it.”

Emma sighed in frustration, “ she isn’t invincible, she has a blind spot somewhere, we need to find it and exploit it.”

Gold’s voice filled the room, as Emma whipped around in surprise, “you are correct Miss Swan, she does have a blind spot, two actually, her love for you and Elsa, and her hatred for me…Oh don’t look so surprised Regina, of course I came over here after our little discussion. Its become very obvious that none of you have gotten any closer to answers. I am here to speed this process along…”

Regina tensed, _I can feel it Emma, we are being played by both of them… these two are playing us. They may be working together for a common goal, and not at each others throats._

Gold continued, unaware that both the Queen and the Savior were evaluating him silently. “ I took something from her and she wants it back, however, I have my own uses for it. she also blames me for being separated from her family. She wants me dead. And she wants to bind Elsa and Emma to her to help her do it. everyone else is disposable to her.”

“so how do we stop her Gold?” Snow asked. Emma glanced at Regina and they both reached a decision. Emma stepped forward  and engaged Gold’s attention, throwing theories, and ideas out there, including the enchanted cell idea while Regina stepped back, silently motioning to Henry. Henry glanced at her puzzled, but went to his brunette mother quietly. Regina whispered something in his ear and he looked at her alarmed. She rushed to reassure him and he rushed out as quickly and quietly as he could. Regina rejoined Emma, joining their hands. _He is going to go get it, and belle. If we are right, this will reveal it._

_This will force their hand… are we ready for this?_

_Probably not dear, but this needs to end. We have to stop this, we have to end it so we can get on with our lives._

They continued to engage Gold, asking questions, fleshing out the holding cell idea. Gold’s eyes narrowed as that plan continued to develop and Regina smirked at Emma, _he is probably recalling that he had one of those cells in the Enchanted Forest. Do you think he knows what we are planning to do, that there will be two cells, one for each of them?_

_No, and we cant let him reach that conclusion._

Emma cleared her throat. “Gold, we need to get that cell ready, if we are going to do this, we need to do it now, as soon as possible. The longer this goes on, the more powerful and dangerous she becomes.”

Gold nodded in agreement. “Let me grab a few things from my shop, and I will meet you there.”

Gold turned and stalked out quickly.

 

Regina waited until she was positive Gold was gone. She immediately enchanted the room so no one outside could hear and turned to face Emma. “ we need to move fast if we are going to get it done before he gets to the shop.”

Emma nodded, “I suspect we have a few moments. No doubt he is going to her to warn her and come up with their own plan.”

David cleared his throat, “ um, ladies, care to fill us in?”

Regina shook her head, “ not yet, you need to trust us. Get to the sheriffs office. Wait for us there. We will be there in a moment. Elsa, stay here. We need your help to pull this off. Everyone else, arm yourselves. We don’t know how this is going to end.”

David, snow, and Ana stared at her confused. “ go gather your hero army. We are going to need all hands on deck for this one. We can’t fill you in yet, we need to maintain the element of surprise. Just do exactly what we discussed. Enchant the cells at the station. Enchant them all, we don’t know which one we will end up needing. Reinforce them with normal means as well. arm yourselves. And be prepared for anything.”

David glanced at Emma who nodded, “go David. Do what Regina says. We will be fine, and we will meet you there.”

David nodded and left with everyone but Elsa.

Elsa waited until they had all left and nodded, “ I am assuming we have all reached the same conclusion. They are in this together.”

Emma nodded. “ it’s the only thing that makes sense. Gold never really turned over his dagger to Belle. He has clung to it, to his power for a reason. we know he was using Hook to do his dirty work, and I remember Hook saying something about Gold collecting Magic using some sort of enchanted Hat.”

Regina stared at Emma in horror, “ he has the sorcerer’s hat?!”

_That’s what that is, wait, That’s a thing? For real?_

_Seriously Emma, you are surprised?_

_You would think I would be used to this by  now, that nothing would surprise me anymore but it still does. Damn, this is going to be even harder than we thought. They do want to take our powers, and use them, for what?_

Regina cleared her throat, remembering that Elsa was with them. “ he most likely wants to use the hat to free himself from the dagger, and keep his power. She most likely wants it to get back what she lost, her family. And she wants you to be a part of that family. She sees you as a daughter.”

Emma shuddered. “ do you think our plan will work?”

That harry potter line crept into Regina’s mind again, unbidden, and this time it fell off her lips easily, much to her and Emma’s astonishment. “seriously Emma, when have any of our plans actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.”

Emma stares at her for a moment and then starts laughing, softly at first but then loudly. She gasps, holding her sides, struggling to get words out around her laughter, “Regina freaking Mills just quoted Harry Potter, my life is now complete!”

Regina glared at Emma at first but pretty soon a small smile worked its way across her features and grew into a grin, and then a deep laugh.

Elsa simply stood and stared at the two of them, thoroughly confused as to what the two women found so hysterical. “ Emma, Regina, we need to focus. And you need to fill me in on what the plan is.”

Regina snapped back to focus, Emma following suit, though she was still clearly amused.

Regina glanced at Elsa apologetically, “ sorry Elsa, you are right. This is what we need to do...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first off, I apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter up. I was stuck for a while, unable to figure out how to end this story. i have fallen in love with it and dont want it to end, but all good things must come to an end. there are only a few chapters left. probably the next two will be the big battle, and then one to wrap up the story with a bow... 
> 
> second off, there will probably be a sequel, since i already have a few ideas.. it might be another full length story, it might be a series of one shots. dont know yet...but i do know i want to flesh out Emma and Regina's relationship a bit. they havent had much time in this one to really deal with their feelings and figure things out...
> 
> third, thanks so much for the love and support. this story has been my very first attempt at fanfiction involving a tv shows. I have completely fallen in love with the characters of this show... specifically Regina.


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